


A Drop In The Ocean

by MarvelObsessedgirl3



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Author Is Sleep Deprived, Avengers Compound, Avengers Family, Avengers Feels, Avengers Movie Night, Awesome Natasha Romanov, BAMF Natasha Romanov, Clint Barton & Natasha Romanov Friendship, Domestic Avengers, Fluff and Angst, Foster Care, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Marvel Universe, Natasha Romanov Is Not A Robot, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, Not Canon Compliant, Original Character(s), Orphans, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Post-Civil War (Marvel), Protective Natasha Romanov, References to Depression, Steve Rogers & Natasha Romanov Friendship, The Author Regrets Nothing, The Avengers Are Good Bros, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Whump
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:53:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 23,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24742615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarvelObsessedgirl3/pseuds/MarvelObsessedgirl3
Summary: What happens when running away from an abusive foster home, means that you meet the infamous Black Widow, whilst shop lifting?Eliza didn't imagine that that would ever happen to her. Yet, here she was.
Relationships: Clint Barton & Natasha Romanov, Clint Barton & Natasha Romanov & Original Female Character(s), Clint Barton & Tony Stark, Clint Barton & Wanda Maximoff, James "Bucky" Barnes & Natasha Romanov, Natasha Romanov & Avengers Team, Natasha Romanov & Tony Stark, Original Female Character/Original Male Character, Peter Parker & Natasha Romanov, Steve Rogers & Natasha Romanov, Steve Rogers & Tony Stark, Tony Stark & Avengers Team, Wanda Maximoff & Natasha Romanov
Comments: 53
Kudos: 141





	1. Every story needs a beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Hi all!  
> I hope you enjoy this fan fiction! If anyone would like to donate anything to me, I would greatly appreciate it, all your donations help me to be able to keep spending my time, writing my fanfictions, even a pound/dollar helps!  
> I love creating this content for you all<3
> 
> My PayPal is: https://paypal.me/SClark753?locale.x=en_GB

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a troublesome day, Eliza ends up running away from her Foster home and ends up on the streets.

Slamming the front door of the house behind her, Eliza bolted, heading straight for the busy city. No way was she staying in that place for one more second, not when the younger children were so focussed on making her life a living hell. Yet again, she had gotten in trouble, this time it actually wasn’t her fault. One of the younger children had been pestering her with a stink bomb the whole day, threatening to plant it in her bedroom that night. Unfortunately, her foster mother had walked past, just in time to see the first punch being thrown by Eliza. In all fairness, Eliza knew that violence wasn’t the answer, however, she was so sick and tired of the younger children threatening her when the adults weren’t watching; hiding her stuff; messing up her room; stitching her up to get in trouble and even ruining her school work at times. Eliza had just had enough. The adults never believed her and she was sick of the unfairness of it all.

Eliza was 15 and had been orphaned at age 4, when her parents both died in a car crash. Ever since then, she had been tossed into Orphanage after Orphanage, foster house after foster house. Currently, she had been at this specific foster house for a little over a year – one of her longer stays, but she was completely fed up and today’s incident was the straw that broke the camels back. The foster parents were not very nice and had another five children who they fostered. They were the type of people who fostered for the money that it brough them, not for the children and Eliza knew this.

She was also the one who bore the brunt of their drunken moods – her black eye from the previous day’s ‘punishment’ still hadnt gone away. There was no point in telling anyone, as she would be sent to another Orphanage and Eliza didn’t fancy being shoved back in a group home, with a hundred other little kids and potentially abusive adults there too, so she stayed put and dealt with it.

Eliza wasn’t one to get emotional, she had had to learn how to compartmentalise her struggles over the years, so as not to let bullying at school upset her and other things; however, she dealt with her emotions in unhealthy ways and usually her upset morphed straight to anger. She was the type of person, who went in all guns blazing and asked questions later. Under her rough exterior, like many orphans, Eliza had dreams of finding a family, but as she had gotten older, this dream had seemed to float further and further away.

There was no way she would be able to sneak back inside the house for any money, clothes or anything of worth, Elisa thought bitterly, as she ended up near Central Park, scuffing her trainers as she walked miserably. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small handful of change – some stolen from fountains previously and the last of her weekly allowance, but it was enough to buy her some dinner and possibly a bus ticket, if there was enough left.

She had no idea what she would do after that, probably stay on the streets for a while, shop lift, that kind of thing, whatever it took to survive. She had done this all before, but had been caught and brought back to her foster home after a week, when the police and social services found her; she was determined that that wasn’t going to happen again.

Pulling a cigarette out of her other pocket and a lighter – that she had stolen a few weeks ago from her foster father, Eliza sat down on a bench in Central Park and lit it, before taking a long drag and watching her surroundings with a vague interest. One thing that Eliza liked, was being outside. It didn’t feel as restricting. Although the teenager knew of the possible dangers of being alone outside, especially on the streets, she continued to sit on the bench, until it got dark, avoiding the stares of families and other strangers passing by.

After a while, when the sun had set and it had started to get cold quickly, Eliza started to get hungry. She stood up and made her way through the park in the darkness, guided only by the street lights, in the search of a corner shop. Seeing that one still had the lights on a few minutes later, she walked inside and glanced at the clock on the wall, it was almost 10pm.

Eliza walked down the isles, in search of food that she could ration and her eyes fell on a bottle of water, a large chocolate bar and a sandwich – it was a meal deal. The door jingled and a woman with her hood up walked in and made a bee line for the fruit section. Eliza glanced at her briefly, before she then looked down at the money in her hand, realising just how little she had left. It was barely enough just for the sandwich. She scoured the shelves for other offers, but everything was so much more expensive than she figured it would be. It was either a sandwich or a bottle of water. Peering around the isle, Eliza saw that she was the only customer in the shop, apart from the woman with her hood up, who had walked in a few minutes prior. The shop keeper had nipped into the back, by the looks of things.

Now was the perfect time.

Quickly, she stuffed the sandwich in her jacket and reached out for the bottle of water too. She had just picked it up, when a firm slender hand grasped her wrist tightly. Eliza whipped around and came face to face, with the woman who had her hood up. Eliza could see piercingly green eyes looking at her intently, whilst the rest of her face was covered by a silk scarf. She tried to pull her arm away, but the woman held it easily and her eyes narrowed at the teenager. She spoke in a low and dangerous voice, that had Eliza trembling.

‘You don’t want to do that, Kid. Put it back.’ Eliza swallowed hard and gathered her courage, to talk in her most threatening voice.

‘Let go of me, before I scream.’ The woman suppressed a smirk, before gesturing to the bulge of the sandwich in her pocket and the water bottle in her hand.

‘Go ahead. Then you can explain to the shop keeper, why you’re stealing from him. I’m sure the authorities would love to hear your explanation.’ Eliza scowled and all but threw the items back on the shelf, before wrenching her wrist out of the womans grasp, who let go of her easily. Eliza then stormed out of the store, not giving the woman a backwards glance.

In all fairness, that could have gone a lot worse and the teenager was pretty sure that if the woman wanted to, she could still tattle on her and Eliza wasn’t about to stick around to wait for the police to get there. She walked down the road, in search of another store, sighing at the fact that she had to resort to shop lifting again at all. It was so much of a hassle, but she barely had enough money for a sandwich, so she didn’t have much choice. It was either steal, don’t steal and starve or get caught and be taken back to the foster home. None of the options sounded great, but Eliza decided to try her luck in a second store. Maybe things would be cheaper there.

Unfortunately, by the time she had located another store, it was closed and more and more dodgy people had started to roam the streets. Groaning in annoyance, Eliza took a deep breath and bit her lip. She knew that she needed to find somewhere kind of safe to crash for the night, but she was very tired and hungry. Eliza saw a bakery down the road, closing for the day and she had an idea. Making her way down the road, she opened the door and stuck her head inside, coming face to face with the owner, who was in the middle of closing.

The elderly woman opened her mouth to inform Eliza that they were closed, but the teenager spoke first.

‘Have you by any chance got any leftovers that you’re throwing out?’ The owner gave her a pitying smile and nodded, before she walked into the back. Eliza took her chance and grabbed a pack of gingerbread from a nearby basket, hiding it in her jacket, just as the woman came back out a moment later, with a small and slightly burnt loaf of bread. Eliza gave her a small smile and took the bread.

‘Shouldn’t you be at home? Where are your parents? Do you need me to call anyone?’ The woman asked in a gentle voice and Eliza quickly shook her head and backed out of the shop.

‘No, I’m fine. Thanks.’ She then ran away, without a second glance, until the bakery was a few blocks away, still not noticing the silent figure in the shadows, who was following her.

Eliza found a small corner that was unoccupied, away from the main roads and she sat down, grimacing as her stomach rumbled. Pulling apart the bread, deciding to keep the gingerbread for tomorrow, she started to eat it quickly, sighing in relief as she chewed. A small rustle in the direction behind her, made her freeze. She turned around and frowned, not seeing anyone there.

It was probably a leaf, she thought, pulling off another chunk of bread. A bird flew in front of her and looked at her eagerly and she huffed, before throwing the chunk of bread to it. After a minute or so, Eliza had finished most of the bread and sighed, rubbing her eyes tiredly, as she pulled her knees to her chest and pulled her jacket around herself closer, to try and keep warm.

She closed her eyes, completely unaware of a figure walking up to her silently, as if they were part of the shadows. They then cleared their throat and Eliza’s eyes shot open, looking up at the figure in front of her, who had piercingly green eyes that were visible from the street light above, the rest of her face still covered by the red silk scarf. Eliza recognised her as the woman earlier who had stopped her from shop lifting.

‘So, you’re a runaway.’ The woman said casually, as Eliza glared at her, standing up, her hand on the lighter in her pocket – not much of a weapon, but it must hurt to get hit in the head by it.

‘Who are you? Just fuck off and leave me alone.’ The girl demanded, as the woman pulled her hood down and pulled her scarf off, giving Eliza a smirk, as the girl recognised her immediately and paled.

‘I’m Natasha and you have some explaining to do.’


	2. Questionning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliza is given an ultimatum by Natasha and she isn't happy about it.

Eliza froze when Natasha removed her scarf and hood, revealing her true identity. Great. It was just the 15 year olds luck, to run into the infamous Black Widow and have said ex-assassin catch her shoplifting…possibly twice. 

‘You’re…you’re the Black Widow.’ Eliza managed, after she had gotten over her initial shock and Natasha nodded, her face unreadable. 

‘Yes, and like I said, you have some explaining to do, unless you want me to call the police and have them deal with you? Although, I can guarantee you, that they will not be as understanding, as I will be... probably. It’s your decision.’ Natasha raised an eyebrow when Eliza didn’t reply – as she was weighing up her options quickly: she’d already gotten a warning from the police a few months prior for shoplifting, so she would probably be in really huge trouble if they came to deal with her. However, in front of her was an ex-assassin who had the potential to probably kill her with a pebble and that secretly terrified Eliza; but she really didn’t fancy spending the night behind bars and having her foster father have to come and get her…the thought of what he would do to punish her, sent shivers down her body.

Natasha huffed impatiently and held up her phone, her finger poised ready to dial the police and Eliza was brought back to reality quickly.

‘Last chance Kid. Me or the police. I’m getting bored of standing here.’ 

‘You.’ Nodding, Natasha put her phone away and she then gestured to a nearby bench, a little ways down the path and Eliza reluctantly followed her. They both sat down and Eliza put as much distance between her and Natasha as she possibly could, as the assassin turned to look at her with her unreadable expression.

‘What’s your name?’ Eliza frowned and crossed her arms. Sure, she would prefer Natasha over the police at this point, but she wasn’t about to reveal her entire life story to a complete stranger, superhero or not. 

‘Why?’ Natasha rolled her eyes and pursed her lips in impatience. 

‘Because I would rather call you by your name and not ‘Kid’.’ 

‘Eliza.’ Natasha nodded, as Eliza looked away; she found Natasha’s green eyes looking at her intently, as if seeing right through to her soul and it made her squirm slightly.

‘Why are you running away? Have you called anybody to tell them where you are?’

‘How do you know that I don’t just live on the streets? And no, I don't own a phone.’ Eliza replied instantly, scuffing the ground with her trainers.

‘Anyone with sense, would know that you’re a runaway, Eliza. You aren’t nearly as dirty as you would be, should you be living on the street. I thought that all Teenagers lived on their phones?’ The teenager huffed in annoyance and shrugged.

‘Not this one. Fine, congrats. You figured me out. Can you just tell me off and send me on my way now?’ Natasha scoffed and looked at Eliza incredulously.

‘You really think that I’d just let you go off to wherever you want? I’m not stupid Kid, if given the chance, you’d bolt again. Why did you run away?’ Natasha wanted to make a quip about Eliza’s parents being unbearable to her teenage mind, however, she didn’t, as she was concerned about the black eye that the girl had and also the fact that there was a large bruise down one side of her neck, hidden mostly by her jacket.

‘None of your business.’ Natasha nodded and pulled out her phone, then began typing, to the teenagers horror.

‘What are you doing?!’ Eliza asked quickly and Natasha paused dramatically, before raising an innocent eyebrow.

‘Just dialling the Police, seeing as you aren’t keeping to our agreement.’ 

‘No! Don’t! I’ll tell you, just…just don’t call them.’ Putting her phone away, Natasha looked at Eliza expectantly and she sighed, before resigning herself to the fact that she was going to have to tell Natasha the truth…or at least some of it.

‘I live with a foster family and they’re dicks, so I ran away. There. Happy?’ Eliza said sarcastically, as Natasha ignored her attitude and instead, gestured to her black eye.

‘How did you get that?’ Eliza froze for a second, not unnoticed by Natasha of course, who stayed silent and continued to look at her expectantly.

‘I fell over.’ Natasha hummed and raised an eyebrow.

‘Into someone’s fist? You don’t get black eyes and bruises like that from falling over, Kid.’ Eliza realised the severity of the situation, she needed to get Natasha off her case immediately, other- wise she would call Social Services and have her moved to another home or Orphanage and Eliza didn’t want to deal with that again.

‘At school.’ She replied quickly, ignoring Natasha’s sceptical expression.

‘At school.’ The assassin replied as Eliza nodded quickly.

‘Yeah, I fell over first…um then there was a fight and I got hit. No biggie.’ Natasha hummed in response, however, she didn’t pry anymore and let it drop, much to Eliza’s relief. 

‘Why were you shop lifting? Surely you wouldn’t run away without any money or a plan? Running away is a big deal.’ 

‘It kind of just happened – me running away. I didn’t have any time to get anything. I was hungry and didn’t have enough money…so yeah. I’ve been on the street before, a few times actually. No big deal.’ Eliza said shrugging, as Natasha didn’t reply, apart from a small noise that indicated she was listening.

‘I don’t like having to shop lift, it’s not something I want to be doing.’ Eliza said earnestly, feeling like she had to defend her actions to Natasha, who continued to look at her and listen.

‘I just…didn’t know how long I’d be out here and like I said, I was hungry, still am actually.’

‘I’m not surprised, seeing as how you gave a lot of bread from the bakery to that bird earlier.’ Natasha commented nonchalantly, as Eliza’s eyes widened.

‘You were following me? The whole time?’ Natasha nodded and tilted her head.

‘I was concerned, as soon as I saw you. You didn’t seem like the shoplifting type; I figured you were running away, so I followed you. Then I overheard your interaction with the owner of the bakery and watched you come here – completely out in the open, unprotected, I felt like I needed to intervene, before you got yourself into more trouble. It isn’t safe for a Kid your age to be wondering the street at night.’ Eliza opened her mouth to protest that her hiding space was more than suitable, but she closed it quickly as Natasha raised an eyebrow at her and then spoke in a no-nonsense tone.

‘This is what is going to happen. I will walk you back to your foster house and you will not attempt to run away again, as it isn’t safe. I will not inform your guardians or the authorities of your…activities from tonight, however, in return for my lenience, you will take the gingerbread back to the bakery tomorrow and apologise for stealing. I'll know if you haven't done so. Is that a fair deal?’ Eliza quickly thought about this and nodded, her stomach flipping over with anxiety at the thought of having to go back to her foster house so soon, she thought that she would be able to escape properly this time…apparently not. 

‘Let’s go then, unless there is anything else that you want to tell me?’ Eliza shook her head and heard Natasha sigh softly.

‘Ok. Where do you live?’ After telling Natasha her address, they both begun the walk back to the house, completely in silence, apart from the quiet sound of the rustling of leaves and the night wind.

***

‘This is me.’ Eliza mumbled, as they approached the house, where all the lights were still on and a man was standing outside, smoking, a few empty bottles of beer surrounding him. Eliza felt her stomach flip as he saw her approaching. The man immediately put his cigarette out and walked over towards them both, his face bristling with anger. 

Shit. She’d hoped he’d calmed down from earlier. Guess not.

‘There you are! Where the fuck have you been?!’ As if just noticing Natasha for the first time, he then looked at her and huffed.

‘Great. What’s she done this time? Another shoplifting case, right? You’re here to give her a warning, are you? You don’t look like a cop.’ Natasha’s nose twitched slightly at the overpowering smell of tobacco and stale booze coming from him, however, she smiled and put a firm hand on Eliza’s shoulder, feeling the teenager flinch slightly under her.

‘Not at all. Eliza helped me to find my dog that had run away. It took a long time and after wards I said that I would walk her home as a thank you. My apologies for not informing you of her whereabouts, I assumed that she had permission to be out.’ Natasha lied easily, much to Eliza’s surprise. 

‘Yeah well she didn’t. Ran off, didn’t she. Third time this month. Ur…thanks for bringing her back.’ 

‘My pleasure.’ Natasha said, her hand gently squeezed Eliza’s shoulder, before the man nodded at her and then addressed the girl.

‘Get inside.’ Eliza turned to Natasha and gave her a salute before hastily bidding her good night and making her way inside, followed immediately by the man; he narrowed his eyes at Natasha briefly, as if trying to place where he had seen her before, but after a moment, he turned around and slammed the door, non the wiser.

Natasha watched as they walked inside, the front door slamming behind them and she hummed in thought. 

Maybe there was more to Eliza than met the eye. 


	3. A secret contact

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natasha figures out a plan to try and investigate secretly, if Eliza is telling her the truth.

‘You do know that it’s like 3 in the morning, right? You’ve got to tell Fury to calm down with the work load you’re getting, it’s getting ridiculous.’ Natasha looked up from her laptop, at Clint Barton, who had made his way into the kitchen and had started to pour himself a glass of water. She stretched and leant back in her chair, before turning back to the laptop.

‘It’s not work related.’

‘What is it then? Must be something important to keep you up.’ Clint raised an eyebrow questioningly, as Natasha sighed and turned around to face him.

‘I met a Kid earlier tonight, when I went out to buy some fruit. She was shoplifting and when I confronted her about it, she told me that she’d run away from her foster home. I took her back.’ Sitting down opposite her, Clint nodded slowly and took a sip of his drink before replying.

‘That was…awfully nice of you. Sorry Nat, I’m a bit lost…why is that keeping you up?’ Natasha turned the laptop around and Clint immediately looked at the article that she had been perusing: **Abusive situations in foster care.**

‘She’s being abused?’ Clint said in shocked voice, as he looked from the article and then to Natasha, who shrugged and pursed her lips.

‘I can’t be certain without concrete evidence, but I suspect so. She had a black eye and a bruise on her neck and then when I confronted her about it, she said she fell, then changed her story to ‘I got in a fight at school.’ It was suss and she was definitely lying. I imagine that she thought I would report it and she’d get in more trouble or something. I don’t know. I couldn’t report it anyway without proof.’

‘What happened when you dropped her off?’

‘The foster father was outside, pissed by the smell of him and he was smoking like a chimney. He was gruff with her, but that was to be expected due to the fact that she referred to him and his wife as ‘dicks’. Something just felt uneasy about it all. He said it was the third time she’d run away this month – if that isn’t a red flag, I don’t know what is.’ Clint nodded and ran his fingers through his hair, deep in thought.

‘Foster kids run away all the time though. Doesn’t mean she’s being abused, Nat.’

‘I know that. She just seemed…off. I can’t explain it. Just a feeling. She wasn’t bothered to be sleeping on the street and to be honest, that was another flag. What Kid would rather choose to stay on the street, rather than stay in a house or even go to the authorities? A scared one, that’s who.’ Clint listened and made a noise of agreement.

‘That is true. So… what are you going to do ‘bout it?’

‘What makes you think that I’m going to do anything? It has nothing to do with me.’ Natasha replied smoothly, shutting her laptop and staring at Clint who shook his head in amusement and gestured to the clock and then to her.

‘Well, considering that you’re still up and have that ‘no nonsense Nat’ face on, I’m pretty sure you’re figuring out a plan.’

‘No nonsense Nat face?’ Clint sniggered and nodded, sipping his water, as Natasha looked at him questioningly.

‘Yeah, it’s the face you make when you’re planning something important.’ Natasha smirked and then looked at him seriously.

‘She nicked some gingerbread from the Bakery on 42nd, so I said she had to return it tomorrow and I’ll know if she didn’t, in exchange for me not reporting her to the police.’

‘How are you going to manage that? Like, I get you’re amazing and all, but you’re not omnipresent Nat.’ Clint said incredulously, as Natasha looked at him like he was stupid.

‘I am going to ring up anonymously and find out if she had done. I don’t know, probably just say I’m aware of the situation, and maybe impersonate a cop or something.’

‘Sounds like a plan. Get some sleep Tasha. See you later, you know, when it’s actually light outside.’

‘Hilarious. Night Clint.’ Natasha watched him leave. She opened her laptop again, before she looked at the article again and sighed.

‘What are you hiding Eliza?’

***

True to her word, Natasha waited until it was 10 minutes before the bakery was due to close, which luckily was at 6pm, due to it being a Saturday, before she rang up (impersonating an NPD officer) and asked if a pack of Gingerbread had been returned. It hadn’t.

Natasha hung up and frowned. She had almost been positive that Eliza was telling the truth to her, when she promised that she would return it, so why hadn’t she?

‘Maybe she got grounded?’ Clint suggested, after Natasha had hung up and she debated this, however, her gut was telling her that something was wrong.

‘Maybe…I just…something doesn’t feel right, Clint. It’s only some gingerbread that she nicked, I get that and she probably is grounded or something. However, I can’t help but feel like there’s something else going on. The black eye and the bruises…I don’t know, maybe I’m just reading too much into this.’

‘Why don’t you just tell the cops and have them deal with her?’

‘She’s got enough on, it was a mistake and she owned up to that. I don’t want her to get a record because of it if the police get involved. She’s been through enough by the looks of it. I just can’t help but feel…uneasy about it all.’

‘So what… you’re going to ring up the Kid now?’

‘Not exactly. She told me that she doesn’t have a phone anyway.’ Natasha didn’t elaborate and Clint suppressed a laugh.

‘Oh god. What are you planning Tasha?’

‘Undecided, still thinking. Do you have my lock picking kit by the way?’

‘Jesus. I don’t even want to know what you’re planning. I’ll leave it on your bed. Just… don’t get arrested.’

‘Me? Really Barton?’ Clint smirked at her.

‘Could you pick me up some cereal, if you head out? We’ve run out again.’ Natasha rolled her eyes and shook her head in amusement.

‘Fruity Loops, extra fruit? Because you seem to think that you’re a 5 year old.’ She stood up, moving over to the fridge to get a drink, as Clint walked over to the elevator and turned back around.

‘Of course, and no, it’s just the best cereal there is, so shut up.’

Less than an hour later, Natasha could be found hidden behind a large bush, near Eliza’s house. She had formulated a plan that she was pretty confident would work, as long as she wasn’t caught and had specifically picked that time, as she hoped that the family would be busy making dinner or cleaning up.

She waited until the coast was clear in both directions and she quickly made her move. Climbing swiftly up the rafters and towards a window on the left hand side of the house, she silently looked in and saw the empty bedroom, that had a notebook on the desk. Natasha’s eyes narrowed at the name on the front and she smiled triumphantly when she read Eliza’s name.

She quickly picked the lock of the window and slid in, listening intently for any sound of another person.

Oddly, there wasn’t much sound of anything, apart from children yelling at each other downstairs. Natasha’s nose wrinkled at the smell of stale booze and curry that tinted the air, as she silently put an old Stark Phone and small note, underneath the pillow on the bed.

Natasha had remembered Eliza saying that she didn’t own a phone, which Natasha thought was odd, as she had said that she was 15, however, remembering the events of the previous night, she understood that Eliza probably didn’t have much of anything living here. Pulling the pillow over the phone and note, Natasha then slipped back through the window, locked it and made her way back to the Compound, hoping that her plan worked.

***

Unbeknownst to Natasha, Eliza had very good reasons that she hadn’t returned the gingerbread – the first being was that her punishments were very visible on her face, in the shape of a broken nose and her even more blackened eye and the second was that she hadn’t had a chance to leave the house that day, as she had been cleaning all day. She finished clearing up the dishes and she was allowed to have one spoonful of dinner as a reward, before she took herself up to her room and collapsed in a heap on her bed; she frowned at the hard lump under her pillow. Her eyes widened in shock as she pulled out Natasha’s note and the phone, that was possibly the most expensive thing that she had ever seen, let alone held. With shaky hands, she opened the note.

_Eliza,_

_As agreed upon, I waited to see if you had stuck to our agreement from last night regarding the bakery. I expect that you have a valid reason for not sticking to it, however, I am prepared this once, to let it go and give you the benefit of the doubt, due to your honesty in our discussion last night and not get the authorities involved. I however, ask you not to make shoplifting a regular occurrence, at all._

_I have given you this phone, as I recall that you do not own one. This phone is to be kept secret, due to the fact that you told me that you are not allowed one anyway; also, there is only one contact in the phone, which is my own; if ever you need to contact me, please feel free to do so._

_I only ask in return, that you do not share this phone with anybody and that you do not leave it unattended; also, I ask that you do not run away anymore – it isn’t safe._

_This note will vanish by midnight, as I have used erasable ink._

_Natasha Romanoff,_

_(the lady with the runaway dog) :)_

Eliza couldn’t help her smile at the end, as she blinked in shock and re-read the message a few times.

She didn’t realise that Natasha would care this much, she figured that she would just let the police deal with her, when she didn’t show that day. Maybe, she hadn’t been as successful as she thought when she lied about her black eye… shit.

Eliza then unlocked the phone and looked at the contact number, before making a decision – she wanted to at least thank Natasha, even if she didn’t reply, it was the nice thing to do.

**Unknown number (online)**

Hello? I just wanted to say thanks for the phone and stuff, Ive been cleaning all day and just saw your note, sorry if youre busy or something

**NR (online)**

You’re welcome, Eliza. You’re fine, don’t worry. It’s pretty late to have just finished cleaning. Is everything alright?

**Unknown number (online)**

Yep im fine, lol I’ve cleaned until midnight before, this is normal, it’s only 10pm

**NR (online)**

Ok. Any reason why you didn’t take the gingerbread back then earlier? Are you grounded?

**Unknown number (online)**

something like that

**NR (online)**

You know that you can talk to me, right Kid?

**Unknown number (online)**

Lol that’s not gonna happen

**NR (online)**

Why?

**Unknown number (online)**

because I hardly know you! I just messaged to say thanks, that’s it. Also how did you get into my room?!

**NR (online)**

The window.

**Unknown number (online)**

oh right stupid me, I forgot that trespassing is allowed

**NR (online)**

I was concerned, after last night. I think that I had good reason to be.

**Unknown number (online)**

you don’t need to worry about me, there’s nothing going on

**NR (online)**

Mhm, what are you up to now?

**Unknown number (online)**

why do you care?

**NR (online)**

Nothing better to do. I’m stuck in a stupid meeting.

**Unknown number (online)**

Well shouldn’t you be paying attention?

**NR (online)**

So that’s how you want to play it?

**Unknown number (online)**

Yep

**NR (online)**

Shouldn’t you be asleep? Or even doing homework or something?

**Unknown number (online)**

How do you know that im not doing work

**NR (online)**

Because you’re messaging me.

**Unknown number (online)**

*groans* fine you caught me, I actually do have a lot to do meh

**NR (online)**

Well, at least you can do some tomorrow, seeing as you’ll be free as it’s a Sunday

**Unknown number (online)**

yeah right if im lucky ill be free before it goes dark

**NR (online)**

I thought you’d spent the day cleaning today???

**Unknown number (online)**

…

shit he;s coming back I have to go, bye thanks again!

**NR (online)**

Wait Eliza! Who’s coming back? Don’t go!

**Unknown number (offline)**

Natasha looked down at the notification that said that Eliza was offline and she sighed and re-read through the messages, the uneasy feeling still prominent in her gutt, as Clint walked back into the room, avoiding the other members of the team that were leaving from the meeting they’d all just had.

‘Nat? You ok?’

‘My plan worked and there is definitely something on with that Kid from last night. She said she’d been cleaning all day, then when I asked her about doing her school work tomorrow, she said she wouldn’t be free until night time. She’s hiding something. Eliza said that ‘he’s coming back.’ I really think there’s an issue here.’ Clint raised an eyebrow and nodded.

‘Maybe, but she isn’t your problem Nat. You need to ring social services or something. Hang on, you said she didn’t have a phone?’ Natasha hummed and showed Clint the conversation.

‘No. I still don’t have any proof, but I can’t in good conscience just leave her alone. Anyway, I gave her my number, so if she needs me, she can call. I couldn’t do anything without proof. I’m just going to have to see if she opens up to me and I’ll take it from there.’

‘She might never talk to you again, you know that right?’

‘Yes. I’m just trying to do everything that I can to help her.’

‘It’s a horrible situation, that she seems to be in, but why do you care about her so much?’ Natasha looked at Clint and he saw unshed tears in her eyes.

‘Nobody should have to deal with being abused. When I was caught up under the control of the Red Room, I wished I had someone to talk to about it, no matter who it was. Someone who cared. I want to be that, for the Kid, if she needs it. It’s easy to hide being abused from other people, so I figured that social services wouldn’t be much help if I didn’t have concrete proof. I just want to help her.’ Clint nodded in understanding and gave her hand a squeeze.

‘Damn Tasha, you’ll make me cry, come on. It’s movie night, your pick. Let’s try and relax, yeah?’ Natasha nodded and followed him out of the room, putting her phone onto vibrate mode, instead of silent.


	4. Breakthrough

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a while, Natasha gets a message from Eliza, too bad it's at 2am and the Kid is bleeding out.

It had been a couple of months since Natasha had given Eliza the phone and she had yet to hear back from the wayward teenager; apart from a quick message that had followed their previous conversation of _(‘it was my brother annoying me, that’s it, thanks again.’)_ – which Natasha had replied to of course, but was met with no response.

To be honest, she had come to the conclusion that she wouldn’t hear from her again, after all, it was to be expected. Natasha figured that she had done everything that she could to help the girl and she had almost forgotten about her, until late one Thursday night, when her phone buzzed with an unknown number.

**Unknown number (online)**

hi um hypothetically do you know how to get glass out of a pretty deep cut and tell if it needs stitches or something?

Natasha was the only one up, in the common room and she instantly opened the message. It took a few seconds for her brain to comprehend who it was that was messaging her, before she realised and her heart fell into the pit of her stomach as she re-read the message. She knew that this must be bad if Eliza was messaging her at 2am, but she knew that she couldn’t jump to conclusions about how she had gotten injured – after all, she could have been mugged or something; but Natasha couldn’t help feeling uneasy about it all. She needed to help the Kid, she could ask those types of questions later.

‘Shit.’

**NR (online)**

How hypothetical is hypothetical? Are you injured? Where is the injury?

**Unknown number (online)**

Fine it’s me

**Unknown number (online)**

its on the side of my head

**NR (online)**

Shit. Ok. Are there any other injuries that require immediate attention?

**Unknown number (online)**

does abroken nose count?

**NR (online)**

Yes. Anything else?

**Unknown number (online)**

Like my head hurts and I feel sick but its probably fine

**NR (online)**

Ok, first thing is first. Are you in a safe space right now?

**Unknown number (online)**

Yes

**NR (online)**

Good. Right. Head first. You need to get some tweezers and a mirror to help you see what you’re doing.

**Unknown number (online)**

Ive got them

**NR (online)**

Carefully pull the glass pieces out, in the direction that they entered your body in, don’t put too much pressure on the tweezers, as you don’t want it to accidentally shatter the glass more – it’ll be even harder to get out. Let me know when you’ve done it. Try not to panic. You need to have a steady hand, otherwise you risk infection if you miss one of the pieces.

**Unknown number (online)**

Done, it fucking hurts and its bleeding tons

**NR (online)**

I bet. You need to clean it out. Use warm running water and plain soap. It should ease the blood stream a bit, enough for you to stitch it. Get a needle and thread – you need to sterilise the needle.

**Unknown number (online)**

can I use tequilla?

**NR (online)**

Yes. Then you need to sterilise the cut. Then knot the thread and start from the left, keeping as close to edge of the cut as possible. Sew away from yourself.

**Unknown number (online)**

Thiss is s so paainful hoyl shit

**NR (online)**

It will be, as you said that the cut was deep. The stitches will help it heal. You just need to keep it clean and it should be fine and healed in a few days.

**Unknown number (online)**

Its still bleeding but a lot less than before

**Unknown number (online)**

should be?!?!?!

**NR (online)**

Eliza, I can’t see the wound, I’m just going with what you’re telling me. If you’ve done everything that I’ve told you, then you should be ok. If not, you’ll have to seek medical attention.

**Unknown number (online)**

Thats why I messaged y ou!!!

**NR (online)**

I’m not a medic; all I can offer is things that I’ve picked up, but if it isn’t stopping bleeding then you need to get yourself to the hospital.

**Unknown number (online)**

ok

**NR (online)**

Nose next. How bad is it broken?

**Unknown number (online)**

Idk its fucking broken?!

**NR (online)**

Yes I know that. I meant, are there bones sticking out, does it still resemble a nose, or is it a big mess?

**Unknown number (online)**

Um it just really hurt s and its kinda like normal but its br oken in the middle, like it hurts to touch and the bottom bit is lower than usual

**NR (online)**

You’re going to need to reset it. It’s going to hurt. You need to GENTLY coax the bottom part of your nose back into place. You’ll need to repeat this a few times daily, until it stays there by itself.

**Unknown number (online)**

god this is shit

**Unknown number (online)**

F fcuk this hruts

**NR (online)**

I know. You’ve got this Kid. How’s the head doing?

**Unknown number (online)**

Stopped bleeding nw I think

**NR (online)**

Good. That’s good. Let me know when you’ve done.

**NR (online)**

Eliza? You ok?

**Unknown number (online)**

Done. Well im as good as someone who has just had to stitch up her head and fix a broken nose can be I guess

**NR (online)**

What the hell happened to get you those injuries?

Eliza whimpered as her head gave a painful throb, before looking at Natasha’s last message and it felt like her stomach had just dropped out of her ass.

_What was she thinking?! How could she have messaged someone and an Avenger at that, about helping her sew up her head and fix her nose?! What the fuck was she going to say? Oh yeah sorry my foster father is completely hammered and just threw a glass bottle at my head and then shoved my head against the wall?_

**NR (online)**

Eliza, if you don’t reply I will come over. I don’t care that its 2am.

Thinking quickly, despite a probable concussion that made her feel sick and her vision swim, Eliza quickly replied back.

**Unknown number (online)**

I fel l off t he kitchen counter it was r eally slippy

**NR (online)**

Right, let’s pretend that I decide to believe you. So, you fell off the counter and what? Fell into glass and then broke your nose?

**Unknown number (online)**

yeah

**NR (online)**

Wouldn’t that have woken people in the household up?

**Unknown number (online)**

nobody to wake up

**NR (online)**

What do you mean? Are you home alone?

**Unknown number (online)**

no, the kids are over at their frien ds ho se and my guardiens are on th e top floor so they wou ldnt have woke n up

**NR (online)**

Ok. I’m literally a phone call away if you need me or if you remember something else about what happened. I’m glad you messaged me.

**Unknown number (online)**

You are?

**NR (online)**

Yes. I mean I’d prefer hearing how your day was at school or something, rather than be told that you’re bleeding out and require immediate medical attention, but yes.

Eliza blinked at the message and ignored the tears that sprung to her eyes, not from the pain of her nose and head, but of the fact that Natasha really had meant what she said in the note a few months ago, that she didn’t mind hearing from her. Eliza had never had any adult in her life want to just simply talk to her. She figured that as long as she was careful, then she could continue talking to Natasha. It would be nice to actually have someone to talk to, when she was trapped in the house.

**Unknown number (online)**

Thank you for helping

**NR (online)**

Anytime Kid. It’s late, try and get some sleep, ok?

**Unknown number (online)**

Ok… so umm would it be ok if I maybe talked to you sometimes?

**NR (online)**

Yes, it would be, but not at 2am, unless you happen to fall off a slippy counter again.

**Unknown number (online)**

understood. Good night Natasha

**NR (online)**

Night Kid.

Natasha looked at the conversation, very concerned still, but also relieved that she had had a breakthrough in Eliza talking to her and that she had actually asked to talk to her again; but she wished it wasn't in such unpleasant circumstances. Humming to herself in thought, she decided to let it all play out to see if she could investigate further, as something still didn't feel right.


	5. 3am phone call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliza and Natasha get to know each other a bit better and after a week of not hearing from the wayward teenager, Natasha is surprised to receive a phone call at 3am from her.

**Unknown Number (online)**

Wanna play a game? I’m bored af

**NR (online)**

Sure. Also, I forgot to ask, how come you’ve not changed your name on here?

**Unknown Number (online)**

I didn’t know I could :/

**NR (online)**

Just press the three buttons at the top and you can change your name. I’ll change mine too

_Unknown Number changed Unknown Number’s name to Eliza_

_NR changed NR’s name to Natasha_

**Eliza (online)**

*nods in approval*

Much better – I didn’t know I could do that!

**Natasha (online)**

I agree. You’ve got a lot to learn in the ways of technology Kid

**Eliza (online)**

yep – so can we play a game now

**Natasha (online)**

What game?

**Eliza (online)**

I dunno – a question game, like a getting to know you better game?

**Natasha (online)**

Ok. 2 truths and a lie. You know how to play?

**Eliza (online)**

Yup

**Natasha (online)**

Good.

1.) I have a best friend who is blind;

2.) My favourite cereal is wholemeal flakes;

3.) I am very good at Ballet.

**Eliza (online)**

Ummm 3??

**Natasha (online)**

No, he’s deaf. Your go

**Eliza (online)**

  * I have been to 12 different schools in the past 10 years
  * My parents were killed in a car crash
  * I’m good at playing the piano



**Natasha (online)**

2?

**Eliza (online)**

Nope, I’ve been to 15 schools

**Natasha (online)**

Ok… 1.) I grew up in Germany

2.) I once had to get my best friend out of the bathroom when he locked himself in

3.) I regularly shop at normal shops, just to get away from the Compound and to allow myself a bit of normality.

**Eliza (online)**

2???

**Natasha (online)**

Unfortunately that is true. I grew up in Russia.

**Eliza (online)**

Lol

1.) my favourite colour is blue

2.) my favourite place to go is Central park

3.) I do my homework and am at a good grade, but my teachers don’t give me the time of day because of my background

**Natasha (online)**

I hope I’m wrong, but 3?

**Eliza (online)**

You’re right

Your go

**Natasha (online)**

Not to sound like a boring adult or anything, but have you informed your head teacher/s? That isn’t allowed, teachers are not allowed to discriminate because of your home situation.

**Eliza (online)**

Last time I checked, nobody gave a shit about my education and no because I’m already bullied enough as it is without the fucking head teacher getting involved lol

**Natasha (online)**

No matter what it looks like, not everyone is out to get you in this world, Eliza. It’s okay to ask for help if you need it, no matter what it is for.

**Eliza (online)**

Yeah lol I’ll pass it’s fine

It’s your go on the game

**Natasha (online)**

Hang on, speaking of school, shouldn’t you be in school? It’s 11am

**Eliza (online)**

shouldn’t you be saving the world or something

**Natasha (online)**

Even Superheroes get days off. How come you aren’t in school?

**Eliza (online)**

G2g bye

**Natasha (online)**

Eliza! Wait, don’t go!

**Eliza is offline**

**Natasha (online)**

Fuck

***

After that conversation, Natasha hadn’t heard from Eliza for a week or so, until she received a phone call at 3am and was very surprised to see that it was Eliza herself calling.

**Voice to Text initiated. (Private Call)**

**Eliza (online)**

So um are you busy

**Natasha (online)**

No. What happened? You know it’s 3am, right?

**Eliza (online)**

So it turns out that living in a house with dangerous kitchen counters isn’t allowed and I ended up in A and E with a concussion. Social services are at the hospital and want to take me away

**Natasha (online)**

Shit. I’m so sorry Eliza.

**Eliza (online)**

Its fine im not there anymore

**Natasha (online)**

Please tell me that you haven’t run away again

**Eliza (online)**

I mean im not not gonna tell you that

**Natasha (online)**

Where are you? Are you ok?

**Eliza (online)**

im ok no I wont tell you because youll get the police to take me back

**Natasha (online)**

No, I won’t. I’m coming to get you and we can figure this out.

**Eliza (online)**

I’m sorry I just don’t have anyone else to message, I’m kinda scared

**Natasha (online)**

I know you are, don’t worry I’m glad you called. Where are you?

**Eliza (online)**

Um near the bakery, where we first met

**Natasha (online)**

I’ll be there in 10 minutes. Don’t move. Everything will be fine.

**Eliza (online)**

ok

**(Private Call Ended)**


	6. New beginnings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natasha gives Eliza an ultimatum.

‘Hey Kid.’ 

Eliza turned around and saw Natasha walking up to where she was sitting and she quickly looked around for any signs of police or other authoritative type figures. Seeing this, Natasha put her hands up in a placating gesture and closed the distance between them, so she was standing right in front of the girl. 

‘Just me, as promised. So, do you want to tell me the full story of what’s going on?’ Eliza sighed and kicked a stray stone with her foot, before staring off into the distance. Natasha waited patiently and after a few moments, Eliza spoke up, her voice was a ghost of the Kid with attitude that Natasha had encountered previously; this Kid sounded scared and lost and Natasha found herself giving her an encouraging smile.

‘I…I fell again off the kitchen counter and got a concussion.’ She lifted her hair away from her face and pointed to a large bruise on the side of her head and Natasha grimaced at the sight. She knew of course that Eliza was using the ‘slippy kitchen counter’ as a metaphor for her abusive foster parents – maybe because she was ashamed, or just because she didn’t want anyone to get in anymore trouble, Natasha didn’t know, so she played along.

‘Those counters sound horrendous. I’m glad you aren’t there anymore, but, correct me if I’m wrong, before people move into houses, don’t people check houses for…dangerous kitchen counters?’ Eliza shrugged and pulled her jacket around herself tighter, before looking up at Natasha, with wide eyes.

‘Things can be hidden.’ The assassin nodded and realised that she had been right about Eliza being abused and that the foster family had been hiding it. Letting out a breath that she didn’t know she had been holding, Natasha looked at Eliza and spoke in a gentle voice.

‘They can be. However, the important thing now, is that you’re away from that situation. You mentioned that CPS were at the hospital? I bet they’re worried sick about you.’ Eliza shrugged again, but Natasha could see that her hands were trembling slightly.

‘When did you leave?’

‘2 hours ago.’ 

‘Shit, that means they’ve called the cops and are probably doing a manhunt for you.’ Natasha joked lightly, as Eliza smiled for a second, before her expression went back to a sad one. 

‘I’m going to be put in another home, aren’t I?’ 

‘Yes, until they can find you another foster home.’ Natasha said bluntly, inwardly swearing at herself, when Eliza nodded and tears filled her eyes. 

‘Damn, sorry Kid, I’m not good at stuff like this. I meant th…’

‘-no it’s fine. It’s the truth. I’m used to it, being tossed around from place to place, never belonging anywhere or having anyone who cares… it’s just another chapter in my shitty life.’ Eliza swiped an arm across her face, as Natasha felt her heart sink at Eliza’s words. There was a time when she believed the same as the child sitting next to her and she remembered just how alone she had felt. This time however, she had the power to help this child and Natasha quickly debated something.

‘I am going to give you two options.’ Eliza nodded, resigned to the fact that whether she liked it or not, this woman was an Avenger and more importantly, she was in charge of what happened to her in that moment, as she’d run away. It was one thing talking to Natasha on the phone as a friend, but sitting there next to her, Eliza was reminded very abruptly that she was an Avenger and was possibly one of the most deadliest women on the planet.

‘Option 1. I take you back to the hospital, and you come willingly, then you’ll be put back in the system and will be given a new foster placement, but that might take a few months, so you’ll be put in a group home until that happens.’ Eliza all but screamed internally; Natasha saw this and she kept talking, in an effort to calm the situation down, before Eliza could over-react.

‘Option 2.’ Natasha continued. ‘-you come back to the Avengers Compound with me and you will be checked out in the Medbay, no strings attached, until we figure something else out. You won’t be going with anyone, who I deem as unsuitable for you – that includes your previous family. Either way, you aren’t staying on the streets. CPS and the police will be informed, as otherwise it would be kidnapping – I will temporarily be your…foster placement; nobody is going to take you away, if you do not want. I want to help you, Eliza.’ Eliza immediately looked up from her hands and blinked in shock. 

‘Th…the Avengers Compound… You’d be my temporary guardian? Just like that?’ 

‘Just like that, otherwise it would be kidnapping. We’ve kind of known each other for a few months now anyway, so, it’s not like we’re complete strangers. Anyway, the choice is yours.’

‘My choice? Really?’ Natasha nodded and stood up, offering a hand to the girl, who paused and looked at her hesitantly. 

‘Why are you helping me? I haven’t done anything for you…why aren’t you just calling the police to deal with me?’ Natasha looked at her, with an emotion that Eliza couldn’t figure out. 

‘No kid should have to live in fear of being hurt or tossed around place to place, no matter who they are. Besides, you’ve grown on me, Kid.’ Natasha paused and then continued. ‘You probably wouldn’t get a better opportunity than this. Eliza? I need you to make a decision.’ Eliza had been sitting in a state of shock, relief, trepidation and hopefulness; she could finally be out of the system and maybe in the future get placed with another foster family. The Avengers wouldn’t let anyone bad take her…she could be happy…

‘You remind me of myself and when I was at my lowest, I wished I had someone to help me, someone on my side, to make me better. I want to be that for you, if you want.’ Eliza nodded and stood up, hoisting her backpack on her shoulder.

‘Can…can I go with you?’ She asked tentatively and Natasha gave her a kind smile and offered her a hand to help her stand up, which she took. 

‘Of course. I need to make a stop at the hospital first and talk to your social worker and get you cleared from the hospital, but it will all be fine. No more slippy kitchen counters, I promise.’ Eliza nodded and followed Natasha, as she started walking down the alleyway, towards the car park, where a large black SUV was parked.

‘It…it was my foster father.’ Natasha turned around and raised an eyebrow.

‘Hmm?’

‘It wasn’t um…it wasn’t a slippy kitchen counter that I fell off and got a black eye and a broken nose and stuff. He did it all… um…he was the one hurting me.’ Natasha nodded and gave the child a small sad smile, gesturing to the car, which she had just unlocked.

‘I know, Eliza, but thank you for telling me – that must have been very hard to do. Don’t worry, he’s going to get his comeuppance very soon. I will personally be involved in what happens to him and I assure you, it won’t be pleasant.’

‘How did you know? I thought I hid it well.’ The teenager huffed and all but threw her bag into the car, as Natasha smirked.

‘I’m a trained spy. There isn’t a lot that can get past me. I figured that you were being abused from our first meeting – why do you think I gave you the phone? Besides, I have some experience in this field.’ Natasha didn’t elaborate and Eliza nodded, as they both got into the car.

‘Let’s go, Kiddo.’ Eliza watched as Natasha reversed out of the carpark and started driving through the streets of New York, she finally felt like maybe things were looking up.

***

True to her word, after a somewhat heated discussion with the police and CPS in the hospital, Natasha was able to clear Eliza from the hospital and she officially become her temporary foster placement – with the help of Tony Stark’s fast lawyers, who were instantly on the case, after a phone call from Natasha. 

Eliza was amazed at how quickly things had happened, but then she figured that it was only because Natasha was an Avenger – otherwise it probably would have taken weeks to get a new placement; she couldn’t help herself from smiling as they drove to the Compound, an hour or so later.

As the large silhouette of the Avengers Compound came into view, with the early morning sun beginning to rise, Eliza couldn’t help herself from gasping at the size of it. Natasha smirked and pulled up into the courtyard.

‘Welcome to your new home Kid.’


	7. Medbay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natasha takes Eliza to the Medbay and Bruce finds out some hidden problems about the teenager.

As soon as they arrived at the Compound, Natasha guided Eliza out of the car and then frowned, looking at how pale the teenager had become during the car journey.

‘Are you ok to walk or do I need to call Medical for a stretcher?’ Eliza shook her head, instantly regretting the action as her head throbbed in pain.

‘No…I’ll be ok.’ Natasha looked at her intently for a moment or so and nodded, although she didn’t look totally convinced; before she then led Eliza through a set of big white mirrored doors and through a seemingly never-ending maze of corridors. After a few minutes, Eliza noticed that the feeling of nausea and dizziness that she had had since being knocked out had increased a lot due to the amount she was walking and she was beginning to struggle to walk properly. She felt like she was walking through treacle, but still she continued walking, not wanting to be anymore bother than she already had been; allowing Natasha to continue to guide her with a steady hand that had wrapped around her shoulders.

After what seemed like the hundredth corridor, Eliza’s vision suddenly tunnelled and she whimpered, as bile rose in her mouth.

‘N…Natasha…I feel funny…my head…’ Natasha turned to face the girl and her eyes widened as Eliza turned if possible, even paler; Natasha then sensed what was about to happen and she quickly turned the child to the side, as Eliza promptly vomited over the floor. Grimacing at the smell and also noticing that it was just bile that was being thrown up, Natasha rubbed Eliza’s back and held her hair out of the way, tying it in a loose bun. 

‘You done?’ Eliza whimpered again and straightened up, as Natasha put her hand around the child’s waist, not caring in the slightest about the sick covered floor - she'd get someone to clean it up later.

‘…I think so…but my…head…it hur…‘ Natasha watched in horror as Eliza’s eyes unfocussed and then rolled into the back of her head and the exhausted teenager swayed and went limp in her grip. 

_ ‘Shit.’  _ Immediately Natasha positioned herself so that she managed to bare the brunt of the girl’s sudden weight and stopped her head from hitting the floor. She gently but quickly picked up Eliza – noticing that she was very light…too light. Making a mental note of this and of the delayed side effects of the concussion, Natasha checked Eliza’s pulse, sighing in relief that it was still there, albeit faster than it should be; and she then ran down the corridor to the Medbay. 

***

‘Bruce? How is she?’ 

Natasha walked into the Medbay and over to the bed that Eliza was in, looking over at the unconscious teenager who was now wired up to machines and looked a lot younger than she usually did; before she glanced at Bruce Banner, who was checking Eliza’s vitals. He looked up as Natasha walked over to him and gave her a small smile, before sighing softly.

‘She’s stable. This Kid is definitely a fighter, Nat.’ Humming in agreement, Natasha then looked over at Eliza’s vitals and then at the sleeping girl. 

‘You’ve dealt with the foster family then?’ 

‘Of course. They’ve been arrested and the other children are back in the system – they weren’t harmed, looks like Eliza took the brunt of it.’ Bruce nodded and started typing on a Stark Pad, as Natasha took a seat next to Eliza’s bed. 

‘So, you’re what, adopting her now? Isn’t this a bit sudden? Haven’t you just met?’ Natasha shook her head, and then realised that she had only told Bruce the basic details of her injuries only, when she had carried Eliza to the Medbay. She pursed her lips before explaining the full story to him.

‘…and then I brought her here and now you’re looking at me like I have three heads.’ She finished after explaining and Bruce awkwardly looked away from her, glancing over at Eliza, who looked peaceful in sleep.

‘Why didn’t you tell the rest of us about her or hand her over to social services?’ Natasha rubbed her eyes, becoming all too aware that it was now almost 7 in the morning and she had yet to sleep. 

‘I told Clint ages ago and after I dealt with the foster parents being arrested, I spoke to the rest of the team, who were pissed off at being woken up, about the situation and they are… adjusting to the news. To be honest, they all have mixed views about it. Bruce, look. I didn’t think the rest of you needed to know, as I didn’t have any concrete evidence… until tonight. I know what it’s like to live with an abusive person, I didn’t want her to go through it all alone – as I was pretty sure that my hunch about her foster parents was right… and it was. Besides, without concrete evidence CPS wouldn’t do anything. We’ve been talking on and off for a few months now, and to be honest, I’ve kind of grown fond of her, so I figured that being a foster placement temporarily until she gets back on her feet would be fine.’ Bruce stayed silent for a moment or so and busied himself, with adjusting the blanket around Eliza, before turning back to Natasha.

‘Nat, you taking Eliza in like this… it’s a big responsibility.’ Natasha scoffed and waved a hand dismissively.

‘Don’t you think I know that? Of course I’ve thought about it. I don’t just go around offering to be a foster placement for abused kids.’ 

‘Well, it sort of seems like you do.’ Bruce said, gesturing to Eliza. Natasha glared at him and shook her head. 

‘Like I said, it’s only until she’s back on her feet. After what she’s been through, I didn’t want her tossed into a random Orphanage the day after she’s been moved yet again from one of her longest foster placements, it just didn’t seem right. Anyway, what’s the full medical report Doc?’ Bruce gave her a grim look and then loaded up a document on the Stark Pad. 

‘She is majorly malnourished – the IV that I’ve given her is full of nutrients and vitamins that will help her, but she will need to be on a specific diet, so as not to aggravate her stomach and more importantly her throat, as the scans show that there is severe scarring on her oesophagus...’

‘Hang on, what caused that?’ Bruce took a deep breath and pointed to the Stark Pad. Natasha looked at it and frowned upon seeing the scans and notes that were written alongside the images, before her eyes widened at seeing something written in Bruce's handwriting that made her feel sick.

‘An eating disorder? Look, I know that she is very light, but maybe her foster parents just weren’t feeding her enough? We can’t just jump to conclusions that serious Bruce.’

‘Nat, I know that, which is why I did more tests and it all points to an eating disorder. Due to the scarring on her oesophagus, her dehydration, the dullness of her hair and the yellowing of her teeth, it is pretty conclusive evidence.’ Natasha rubbed a hand down her face and sighed heavily, as Bruce took back the Stark Pad and put it down, before he then walked over to Eliza and gave Natasha another grim look. She raised an eyebrow in response.

‘…which leads me onto the next topic…’ Bruce gently maneuvered his fingers around the wires and pulled up one of Eliza’s hoodie sleeves, revealing a handful of fading cuts, scratches and fading bruises across her wrist and her arm. Natasha inhaled sharply and swore under her breath, moving closer to Bruce.

‘Self inflicted? Bruce gently pulled the sleeve back down over them and sighed. 

‘I’m not too sure. There could be a logical explanation - maybe a cat caused it or she fell over at school, as there aren’t that many cuts and scratches and they are a week or so old, by the looks of them. There are no other marks on her body, apart from bruising from the abuse.’ Natasha remained silent, her eyes not leaving the sleeves of Eliza’s black hoodie. 

_ Growing up in the Red Room, Natasha had seen many girls turn to unhealthy ways of coping and she knew that some had died from their habits; being made worse by the gruelling routine of the Red Room. This type of behaviour was very serious and Natasha was very aware that she was now essentially in charge of keeping this child alive and that thought terrified her, as she had no idea how to do that.  _

_ Life was hard, Natasha knew that better than most, and so she could understand why Eliza would turn to this type of behaviour – she clearly wanted control over things or wanted to punish herself more. She wondered if she had made the right decision in allowing Eliza to stay. Could she deal with this too? On top of everything else? _

_ What do you feed people with an eating disorder? _

_ What if Eliza runs away?  _

_ What if she was self harming and she bleeds out and Natasha is away on a mission and… _

‘Nat?’ Bruce’s voice jolted her from her thoughts and she gave him a smile, although it didn’t reach her eyes. 

‘Sorry. What did you say?’ Reaching an arm out to squeeze Natasha’s shoulder in a comforting way, Bruce gestured to Eliza.

‘I was just saying that she’ll probably be out for a few more hours, so you should get some rest. You look dead on your feet. I’ll tell Friday to alert you when she wakes.’ Nodding in agreement, Natasha took one last look at Eliza and then looked at Bruce, thankful that he wasn't fussing over her; that was the last thing she needed.

‘Thank you for helping, you know, without asking a million questions and freaking out. I really appreciate it.’ Bruce chuckled and gave her a kind smile.

‘You’re welcome. I think that the best thing for her right now, is some support and a steady routine. I’m confident that Eliza will make a full recovery. It will just take some time.’ Natasha nodded again and made her way out of the Medbay, up to her room to get a few hours of sleep before Eliza woke up. 


	8. Waking up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliza wakes up in the Avengers Medbay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all!  
> I hope you enjoy this fan fiction! If anyone would like to donate anything to me, I would greatly appreciate it, all your donations help me to be able to keep spending my time, writing my fanfictions, even a pound/dollar helps!  
> I love creating this content for you all<3
> 
> My PayPal is: https://paypal.me/SClark753?locale.x=en_GB

The first thing that Eliza noticed when she woke up, was that there was a very strong smell of disinfectant and a loud beeping noise coming from somewhere to her left. Groaning, her eyes fluttered open and she sat up. She saw that she was in what seemed to be a type of mini hospital, but upon further inspection, she saw that it had a slushie machine in the corner and a small café type area by the door. Where was she? What happened?

‘You’re in the Medbay in the Avengers Compound.’ Jumping in surprise at the sudden voice, Eliza’s head whipped around to see Natasha sitting in a chair to her right, looking at her with an unreadable expression. Eliza grimaced as her head gave a weak throb and she looked at Natasha. She looked tired, but her green eyes were as alert as ever and there was a large mug of half drunk black coffee in her hand.

‘How are you feeling? You’ve been out a while.’

‘Um…I’m not sure. My head…still hurts a bit and um… I feel tired.’ Natasha nodded and put down her mug, before giving Eliza a small smile.

‘I’m not surprised. You’ve had a bad concussion. Do you remember what happened?’ Eliza frowned and then her eyes widened as she remembered. She had thrown up in front of the Black Widow and then must have passed out and Natasha must have carried her here. Blushing, Eliza looked down at the wires attached to her hands.

‘I’m sorry…um…thank you.’

‘Don’t worry about it. I’ve seen a lot worse than a bit of sick and someone passing out. Bruce says that you’re clear to be discharged, when you wake up properly.’

‘Bruce Banner? As in the Hulk?’ Natasha smirked and nodded at the amazed, but surprised expression on the teenagers face, as Eliza yawned and rubbed her eyes.

‘Yep. He’s the Doc round here.’ Eliza nodded slowly, realising that apart from what she had seen on TV and learnt at school, that she really had no idea who the Avengers were; would they even like her? What if she wasn’t allowed to stay? Absentmindedly she started to scratch at her arm, stopping when she felt something thick and squishy underneath her sleeve. Pulling it up, she saw bandages and her eyes widened. Shit.

Eliza could feel the anxiety rising in her chest and Natasha, of course, noticed and she moved to sit on the edge of the hospital bed, taking Eliza’s hand in her own bigger ones, to stop her from scratching.

‘Hey. Let’s take some deep breaths hmm?’ Eliza let out a breath that she didn’t even know she had been holding and followed Natasha’s exaggerated breathing, until she was breathing normally again.

‘You ok?’ Nodding, Eliza pulled her hand out from under Natasha’s and they both sat in silence for a few moments, until the silence was too much for Eliza and she blurted out: ‘it was a cat.’ Natasha of course knew that this was a lie due to the fact that she could read the deception through the child’s facial expression, but she nodded anyway, not wanting to upset her further by prying into sensitive subjects.

‘Well, hopefully you won’t see that cat again, whilst you’re staying here. If you do happen to see that cat again though, one of us will always be around to help you, so _that_ doesn’t happen again.’ She replied easily, gesturing to Eliza’s arm, as Eliza nodded and swallowed past a lump in her throat, avoiding the assassin’s penetrating green eyes.

‘Um…so how long was I asleep for?’ The sudden topic change only added more evidence to Natasha’s suspicions of Eliza’s possible self harming, but she decided not to pry, not wanting the teenager to feel as if she was in an interrogation.

’13 hours. It’s almost 8pm.’ Natasha replied nonchalantly, as Eliza’s eyes widened and she took a shaky breath, trying to wrap her head around everything that had happened the past day.

At that moment, the door opened and Bruce walked through, smiling at Eliza as her eyes widened at seeing Bruce Banner.

‘Hello. How are you feeling Eliza?’ The teenager looked between Natasha and Bruce and then gave a shrug.

‘A bit shit really.’ Natasha opened her mouth to reprimand her for the language, but seemingly thinking better of it, she kept quiet, not wanting Eliza to get annoyed and she watched as Bruce smirked slightly before rummaging through a small pile of papers.

‘That’s to be expected. Ok, so Eliza. You had a large concussion – it should be gone fully soon, I think it will be fine with a bit of rest. You are really underweight and so you will be put on a specific diet that will be monitored by Natasha, until you reach a healthy weight.’ Eliza felt her stomach drop at this and she quickly protested.

‘No! No. It’s fine. I wouldn’t want to be a nuisance. I can take care of myself.’ She looked between the Avengers with a silent desperation plea in her eyes. She had been bulimic for as long as she could remember. The familiar feeling of hunger helped to ground her and she used food to be in control when nothing else in her life was in her control. Eliza couldn’t remember the last time that she had had a full meal – her foster parents weren’t bothered about hardly feeding her, and to be honest, Eliza didn’t mind much, as she was used to starving herself or throwing up whenever she ate anything anyway.

Her head swam with thoughts of calories, being fat and monitored at every mealtime and she felt sick at this; what was she going to do now? How could she hide her behaviour and her reluctance to eat now, with a trained spy watching her every mouthful?

‘Neither of us are implying that you can’t take care of yourself Eliza, but you are still only a child and it falls upon your guardian – who is now myself, to make sure that you eat a balanced diet and have a healthy routine.’ Bruce was nodding and unattaching the wires from Eliza very gently, as the teenager was trying to keep her emotions in check.

‘Natasha is right. Your BMI is severely under, as to where it should be and we need to get you to a healthier weight Eliza.’

‘But…’

‘-this is non-negotiable.’ Natasha gave Eliza a firm but kind look, that told the teenager that there was no point in arguing. Eliza huffed before she relented and nodded in defeat; realisation hit her that there wasn’t much that she could do to be sneaky with her eating, whilst living in a house full of superheroes that were now apparently monitoring her closely. However, living here was better than an abusive home or another Orphanage, she reminded herself, grimacing as Bruce started to pull the final tube out from her hand.

‘All done. You’re free to go. It’s been nice meeting you, I hope that you will settle in well here.’ Bruce gave Eliza a friendly smile as the teenager nodded.

‘Thanks for helping me Doctor Banner.’

‘Please, call me Bruce and you’re welcome.’ Eliza smiled slightly and swung her legs out of the bed, standing up with a bit of help from Natasha who steadied her with an arm around her waist.

‘You up for meeting the rest of the team or would you rather go straight to your room?’

‘I have a room?’ Natasha quirked an eyebrow and nodded slowly.

‘Yes, we aren’t making you sleep on the floor Kid. You’re on my floor for now.’ Eliza blinked in shock at this and then realised that she hadn’t answered Natasha’s question.

‘I guess I could meet the rest of the Avengers, if that’s ok?’

‘Well it seems as though one of them is already here. Isn’t that right Barton?’ Natasha called out, rolling her eyes as Clint Barton peered through the door of the Medbay,

‘How do you always know it’s me?!’

‘Because you breathe like someone who smokes a 50 pack of cigarettes everyday.’ Eliza frowned in confusion, as she didn’t hear him by the door. Bruce helpfully supplied quietly: ‘she has enhanced hearing. A few of the team do too – Steve, Bucky, Peter and Wanda.’ Eliza nodded and watched as Clint walked into the room and Natasha raised an eyebrow at him. Bruce smiled at him and left the room, leaving the three of them alone.

‘What do you want Barton?’ Natasha asked, as she helped Eliza put her shoes on, ignoring the protests from the teenager.

‘The Medbay has the best slushies.’ He shrugged, as Natasha finished tying her shoes and rolled her eyes, before she turned to Eliza.

‘This is Clint Barton, also known as Hawkeye. You can usually find Clint in the vents or being an ass.’ Eliza couldn’t help herself from laughing and Clint made an indignant noise.

‘Nice to meet you Mr Barton. I’m Eliza.’ Clint nodded and hummed, bowing to her exaggeratedly which made Eliza grin.

‘Nice to meet you too Kid and call me Clint. So, how is the ‘infamous gingerbread thief feeling?’ Clint smirked, gesturing to Eliza who blushed sheepishly. Natasha swiftly threw a pencil at Clint’s head, which hit and rolled onto the floor. Clint yelped and pulled a face, as Eliza giggled.

‘What was that for?!’

‘Read the room Clint.’ Natasha replied, rolling her eyes as Clint stuck his tongue out at her and rubbed the sore spot on his head. She turned to Eliza who looked nervous.

‘Don’t worry Kid, he’s the only one who knows all the minor details about our encounters, the others only know the very brief basics; as I didn’t think it was any of their business, as it has been dealt with and you promised me that it wouldn’t be an issue again.’ Eliza nodded and was secretly quite relieved and grateful that Natasha hadn’t told the others about her stealing things.

‘Throwing things at people is pretty rude Tasha. You’ve wounded me.’ Clint moaned in a theatrical style voice as he pointed to his completely unmarked forehead and pulled a silly face at Natasha and her lips quirked slightly as Eliza giggled again. Natasha then turned to Eliza, who was watching the interaction of the two adults with interest. She had never seen adults be so… friendly towards each other before.

‘Time to go meet some people. They’re all excited to meet you, don’t worry.’ Eliza nodded and followed the adults as they all made her way out of the Medbay.

Clint walked next to Natasha and they both started talking quickly in a language that Eliza didn’t understand, as the teenager followed them, looking around at the scenery with interest. Trepidation grew in her stomach as it was starting to really become real that she was going to be living at the Avengers Compound and that she was about to meet the rest of the Avengers.


	9. Understanding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliza meets the Avengers and Natasha tries to get her to eat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all!  
> I hope you enjoy this fan fiction! If anyone would like to donate anything to me, I would greatly appreciate it, all your donations help me to be able to keep spending my time, writing my fanfictions, even a pound/dollar helps!  
> I love creating this content for you all<3
> 
> My PayPal is: https://paypal.me/SClark753?locale.x=en_GB

The elevator doors opened and the first thing that Eliza saw was a room full of Avengers. Literally. All of the team were watching a documentary about planets or something, on the largest television that Eliza had ever seen and upon hearing the elevator ding, they all turned to the cause of the sound. Steve instantly paused the TV; Natasha and Clint then led Eliza out of the elevator and into the room.

‘Time for introductions.’ Natasha said, as she gestured to Eliza, who blushed slightly, hating everyone’s eyes on her.

‘This is Eliza and as previously discussed…’ Her eyes quickly darted around at everyone, daring them to disagree with her, ‘-she will be staying here, under my care, as I will be her temporary foster placement, until other arrangements can be made. Eliza, this is everyone.’

Steve was the first to stand up and offered his hand to Eliza, who took it politely and gave a small smile.

‘Hello Eliza, we hope that you will find some comfort staying here with us. I’m very sorry about what happened. If ever you need to chat, my door is always open.’ Not knowing what to say, Eliza settled for a short nod and then proceeded to shake other hands, as the rest of the team followed suit and started introducing themselves to her. 

After the introductions were done, Natasha and Clint busied themselves talking quietly in Russian, making coffee in the kitchen, whilst the team were trying to get to know Eliza – who was now sat in the living room, responding politely to the teams questions.

The teenager didn’t mind the original questions at the beginning and she quickly found that she liked most of the team already. However, after a few minutes of this, with the TV on in the background and some of the team having their own conversations, Eliza couldn’t help but feel like she was in a small room, like a museum display with all the questions, the loud noises and side looks from them all and she started to become unable to remember how to breathe. 

At that point, both the assassin’s walked over and made to sit down; however, upon looking at Eliza and sensing that she was starting to panic, Natasha walked over and put a steadying hand on the girl’s shoulder, before addressing the group.

‘Question time is over. I’m going to give the Kid a tour and get her settled in. I’ll be down later on.’ She left no room for debate and everyone nodded, turning their attention back to the television and their conversations, as Natasha led Eliza back into the elevator.

Clenching her fists, so hard that blood began to pool under her nails, Eliza closed her eyes for a moment, as the elevator doors shut and it begun to rise up through the floors. 

‘-Eliza?’ The teenager’s eyes flew open and she saw Natasha leaning on the elevator wall, looking at her with an unreadable expression. 

‘Huh?’ 

‘I asked if you were ok?’ Eliza didn’t answer, she looked away from the piercingly green eyes that seemed to be looking right through her and shrugged. 

‘It was a bit intense. I don’t think that Tony and Bucky like me, they kept giving me side looks.’ Natasha waved a hand dismissively and gave her a kind smile.

‘Don’t worry about the team, they just need to get to know you a bit. This will be a big change for us all. We aren’t used to having kids in the Compound.’

‘I’m 15 – I turned 15, 5 weeks ago! I can take care of myself.’ Eliza immediately protested, as the elevator stopped and the door opened and Natasha walked out, followed closely by Eliza.

‘I know you can, but you don’t need to anymore. Unfortunately, being 15 means that you are still a Kid.’ Eliza nodded slightly, as Natasha stopped in front of a wooden door, a little ways down the hallway and turned to her.

‘So, this is you. My room is next door, feel free to knock if ever you need anything, or just ask Friday to get me.’ Eliza’s nose scrunched up as she frowned.

‘What’s a Friday?’ Natasha smirked and gestured all around her.

‘Friday is name of the AI who runs this building, kind of like the security for us all. She’s basically the backbone to the building. She’s in every room and monitors everything. Friday? Care to introduce yourself?’

_ ‘Of course, Agent Romanoff. Hello, my name is Friday and I am the AI who runs this building. If you require me at anytime, I shall do my best to help.’  _ Eliza looked up at the ceiling and tried not to look too surprised. Natasha then opened the wooden door and walked inside, followed by Eliza, who’s mouth dropped open at the sight of the interior.

‘It’s a bit bare at the minute, however, if you’d like, we could go shopping and buy a few bits to make it a bit more…homely, for your time here?’ Eliza tore her eyes away from the king sized bed and the luxurious décor, before she nodded, then frowned. Natasha quirked an eyebrow in question.

‘How long…I mean…um when do I have to leave by?’ Something unreadable flickered across Natasha’s face for a brief second, then it was gone, replaced by her usual stoic expression.

‘I will be meeting again with Social Services in two weeks time, to discuss what will happen next for you. We all agreed that two weeks would be a good period of time to allow yourself to heal, before you get moved into a permanent foster placement. Is that alright?’ Eliza nodded and walked over to the bed, wanting nothing more than to flop into it and sleep for days. Natasha gave her a small smile and gestured to a door on the other side of the room.

‘I appreciate that you’re tired, however, you need to eat something and you also need to shower. The bathroom is in there and there are fresh towels and toiletries for you to use.’ It was at that moment that Eliza realised that she was in her hoodie which no longer had sick on it…someone had washed it; however, she didn’t have any other clothes. In fact, she didn’t have anything else, apart from the things that she had in her duffle bag, of which there wasn’t a lot.

‘Um…I don’t have any other clothes…’ Eliza said, as Natasha nodded, then gestured to the bathroom once more.

‘I know. There are some of my clothes there, for you to change into. We will go shopping tomorrow for clothes, if you’re feeling up to it.’ Nodding, Eliza shuffled her feet awkwardly, as Natasha walked to the door.

‘Thanks…for um…everything.’ Natasha turned to Eliza and gave her a kind smile.

‘You’re welcome Kid. When you’re showered and dressed, tell Friday to come and get me, or if you need me, ok?’ The girl nodded, as Natasha, seemingly satisfied, left the room.

Walking into the ensuite bathroom, Eliza took off her bandages, happy to see that the cuts were healing well, then she stripped and turned on the shower, before stepping inside and sighing as the warm water washed over her. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to try to relax slightly, before she started scrubbing herself hard with the soap that Natasha had provided and then she quickly cleaned her hair. 

However, thoughts from the previous day flooded into her mind, of her foster father…his hands hitting her…the sound of glass smashing…the feeling of her nose breaking and her head hitting the floor…

Without thinking, Eliza turned the water temperature up, so high that there was steam surrounding her and her skin quickly turned red. Her breathing came out in short gasps and she realised that she was having a panic attack. Putting her head between her knees, as the hot water washed over her, Eliza tried to ignore the memories in her head and get her breathing under control. 

After a few moments, she calmed down enough to turn the shower off and climb out, before changing into the clothes that Natasha had left for her. Placing her hands on the sink, Eliza looked at her reflection for the first time in a few days and she was horrified at what she saw. Her face was sunken in, her nose was slightly crooked from the break and was bruised heavily and there was a nasty gash on the side of her forehead that had been stitched up. Eliza stared at herself for a few more seconds, taking in her smaller frame, the deadened look in her eyes and the dullness of her skin. She never remembered looking this bad before and she tore her gaze away, before leaving the bathroom. 

Sitting gingerly on the king-sized bed, Eliza looked at the room once more and sighed. She felt so out of place here. Everything in the Compound was too…clean, too white, no marks anywhere, everything had a place and was in its place; she felt lost. 

Looking out at what she presumed was the garden to the Compound, that was darkening in the setting sun, Eliza ignored the prickle of tears that threatened to fall. The memories of the sickening crunch of her nose breaking, the punches from her foster father and the hit of her head on the kitchen floor kept flickering across her mind and Eliza put her head in her hands, wishing that she could be anyone else. 

There was a soft knock on her door after a few more minutes and Eliza frowned, before remembering that she was meant to get Natasha after her shower. 

‘Hey Kid, are you ok? Can I come in?’ 

‘I’m fine. Yeah.’ The door opened and Natasha entered, carrying a small tray, that looked to have chicken and vegetables on it and a glass of what looked like strawberry milk. She put it on the bedside table and turned to the teenager. Eliza’s stomach rumbled at the sight of the food, but internally she was horrified at having to eat something. Food was the only thing that she had control of in her life and now even that was being taken away from her. 

She appreciated Natasha taking her in of course, however, everything in her life was changing yet again and she had never felt so out of control of everything before. 

Natasha of course saw her horrified expression and she sighed before sitting down and holding the small plate of chicken and vegetables.

‘I know you have your…struggles with eating and I completely understand why. However, it’s my job now, as your temporary placement to make sure that you don’t die on me; so you’ve gotta eat, Kid. As a one off, you can even eat in here, but I need to sit in, to make sure you’re eating – Bruce’s rules.’ Eliza shook her head and clenched her fists, trying to control her breathing and the urge to throw the food out of the window. Natasha was at a loss for what to do, so she racked her brain for techniques that she used with Clint’s children when they were being fussy with their food.

‘I don’t mind if you can’t eat it all, but you need to try and eat some of it, ok?’ Eliza knew she was being difficult, but she couldn’t bring herself to eat anything, so she shook her head. She literally felt sick, just looking at the food.

‘Come on Kid, you need to help me out here. If you don’t start eating, then Bruce will have to resort to…other measures.’

‘I don’t care. I’m not hungry.’ Clearly this was not the right response, as Natasha simply raised an eyebrow at her.

‘Eliza, you are severely underweight and you need to eat something, otherwise what happened last night will be a best case scenario. This is non-negotiable, Kid. Do you want something else to eat?’

‘I said I’m not hungry. You can’t make me.’ 

‘It’s either this or a feeding tube. Your call.’ Eliza’s eyes widened at this and something in her snapped. 

‘I’m not hungry and I do not consent to have a fucking feeding tube shoved down my throat!’ She yelled, standing up angrily, trying to ignore the slight wobble in both her legs and her voice. Natasha put the food down and also stood up, staring at Eliza with an unreadable expression.

‘I appreciate that you’ve had to deal with a lot and I also can understand that your relationship with food is the only thing that you feel like you have control over…’ Eliza blinked at this, surprised that Natasha would understand that and some of her anger dissipated. 

‘-however, you do not swear at me and if you do not do as I ask, or at least try to, then I will have no choice but to get Bruce to put a feeding tube in. You are really underweight Eliza and it’s my job to make sure that your physical and mental wellbeing is in a good place and at the minute, it isn’t. I’m sorry Kiddo, but you’ve got to try to eat.’ Eliza didn’t respond for a minute or so, until she took a deep breath, sat back down and pulled the plate towards her, feeling her heart pounding out of her chest.

She knew that Natasha was just trying to help her and she really didn’t want a feeding tube in, so she willed herself to try to eat something. Natasha simply handed her a knife and fork and then pulled her phone out and started answering messages - in an effort to help Eliza feel like she wasn’t being watched, which the girl appreciated.

'I'm sorry, Natasha.'

'I know. It's ok.'

After well over ten minutes or so, despite the plate of food being very small, Eliza pushed it away and took a few sips of the drink. Natasha turned to her and inwardly sighed when she saw that barely half of it had been eaten, however, she supposed that it was good news that she had at least eaten something. 

‘Sure you don’t want to eat anymore?’ The assassin tried, as Eliza immediately shook her head and pulled her knees to her chest. Natasha nodded and proceeded to tidy up, as Eliza pulled back the comforter and shuffled into bed. 

‘You will not be allowed into any bathroom for 30 minutes after eating, this is to make sure that you don’t throw up whatever you’ve eaten. I’m right across the hall if you need me, ok?’ Eliza nodded in defeat and turned on her side, away from Natasha’s gaze. She heard the tray being put back down and there was a dip near the middle of her bed, implying that Natasha had sat back down.

‘I know things seem very difficult right now, but things will get better, it will just take some time.’ Natasha said in a comforting voice, as Eliza once again blinked away tears that threatened to fall. She nodded again and pulled the comforter up higher, curling impossibly smaller into a ball.

‘Things will get better.’ Natasha repeated, placing a hand on the girl’s shoulder for a brief second, before she then stood up and picked up the tray. 

‘Night Kid.’ She then walked soundlessly out of the room, turning the light off and Eliza finally allowed the tears to fall, crying herself into an uneasy slumber.


	10. You've got a friend in me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliza wakes up in the Avengers Compound, feeling more alone than ever.

Eliza jolted awake, memories her nightmare still fresh in her mind, as she pulled her knees to her chest and gasped for breath – realisation sinking in about where she was, she was in the Avengers Compound and was no longer in her abusive foster home.

After she had composed herself somewhat, she looked towards the small alarm clock on the beside table and huffed; it was barely 4am. Putting on her newly washed hoodie over Natasha’s makeshift pajamas that she was wearing, Eliza opened her duffle bag and pulled out a packet of cigarettes and a lighter from an inside pocket. She was surprised that nobody had gone through her bag, but then again, she assumed that Friday would have told them if there was anything dangerous in her bag.

Tiptoeing to her door and pulling it ajar, she cautiously looked down the hallway for any signs that anyone was awake. Frowning as she tried to remember where the nearest exit was to get outside, she remembered that it was near the communal areas – which were on level 1; so she tiptoed down the hall carefully and went into the elevator.

‘Friday?’

_‘Hello Eliza. How may I help? Your heart rate is slightly higher than average and you appear to be on the verge of a mild anxiety attack. Would you like me to inform Agent Romanoff?’_

‘N…no I’m fine. Can you take me to the communal floor please?’

 _‘Of course. If your symptoms progress to an unhealthy level, I should tell you that I am required to tell Agent Romanoff.’_ Eliza nodded and waited for the elevator to move down the floors, before she stepped out and carefully walked through the empty communal areas, until she was standing in the garden.

She welcomed the fresh morning air on her face, as she shut the door and then lit her cigarette. Eliza sat down on the stairs and slowly brought the cigarette to her mouth, inhaling slowly before exhaling a small puff of smoke, enjoying the feeling of the anxiety fading away. Eliza knew that her coping mechanisms were not healthy at all, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. After all, nobody had cared about her ever in her life, so why should she bother? At least this way, she was granted a few moments of respite from her crippling anxiety and depression.

She heard the door open behind her and Eliza turned her head to see Natasha joining her on the balcony, her face unreadable, although her eyes darted from the girl to the cigarette. Eliza saw that Natasha was wearing joggers, a tank top and cardigan, with fluffy white slippers on her feet – she looked like a regular person, not a superhero.

They sat in silence as Natasha sat on the stairs, within an arms reach of Eliza, as she finished her cigarette. They both looked out into the garden, as the sun started to rise which, created a warm hue over the scenery. Eliza couldn’t help her hand from shaking as she put the cigarette out. She tried to cover it up, but Natasha of course noticed the action immediately.

‘You’re up pretty early.’

‘Could say the same for you.’

‘Thought all teenagers slept til noon, that kind of thing?’

‘Not this one apparently.’ Despite herself, Natasha smirked at the witty response from the teenager, but she also realised that Eliza was trying to reflect the conversation. Natasha decided to change tactics and she put on a slightly firmer voice, her hand held out.

‘You really shouldn’t be smoking. Besides the fact it’s gross and a bad habit, it’s also illegal as you’re underage. You know that you can’t break the law anymore, Kid. Hand it over.’ Eliza stared into the distance, her face completely emotionless, her hand clenched tightly around the packet and the lighter. Natasha sighed, before she withdrew her hand and debated how best to go about this, without causing Eliza to flip out.

‘Smoking helps.’ The teenager muttered after a minute or so of uncomfortable silence and Natasha turned to look at her.

‘Helps what?’

‘To calm me down and shut my head up for a bit. I know I shouldn’t need it, but… it helps.’ There it was. Natasha nodded and looked at the teenager more intently. Her eyes were red-rimmed, there were bags under them too and her entire expression screamed exhausted and fed up. Natasha knew that feeling better than most and the way she dealt with it, was by shooting bullets into practise targets for hours on end – also not a great coping mechanism, but she supposed it was better than inhaling a bunch of nasty things and destroying her lungs.

‘I can understand that. Everyone needs an outlet when things get too much. However, this…’ Natasha gestured to the cigarettes in her hand and gave Eliza a sad smile.

‘-is not healthy at all and more importantly, it’s illegal. I know that nobody ever cared before what you did, but I do. We can find you a better outlet, a healthier one, but I need you to let me help you.’ Eliza looked at the items in her hand and sighed. Everything was being taken away from her and everything was changing. If she gave this up, she would officially have nothing to distract her from the thoughts in her head and that thought made her shiver, but not from the cold.

‘Kid. You know that it isn’t right to be doing that.’ Eliza didn’t answer Natasha straight away, but she felt anger starting to bubble up at the surface of yet another thing being taken away from her and she was powerless to it.

‘What about you?’ Eliza suddenly asked, slight irritation in her voice.

‘What about me?’

‘What ‘healthy emotional outlet’ do you have?’ Natasha sighed heavily and looked at Eliza pointedly.

‘This isn’t about me.’

‘I’m just saying that I bet you do something unhealthy to cope too, in your line of work. Nobody tells you how you cope.’

‘Be that as it may, I am an adult and you are a child. I do not want you to be like me. Hand them over, please.’

‘You’re such a hypocrite!’ She said angrily, but she reluctantly handed them over to Natasha, who pocketed them and took a deep breath.

Natasha then looked at the annoyed teenager next to her, that was determinedly staring into the distance again. Natasha knew that she had had a nightmare, simply from her demeanour, but she could also see a slight tremble in her fingers though and the fact that she was breathing slightly quicker – signs of an upcoming anxiety attack; again, she decided to change tactics, in an effort to get Eliza to start opening up to her.

‘Nightmare?’

‘Maybe, what do you care?’ Eliza replied flippantly.

‘I get them too, I know the signs.’ Natasha replied simply, as Eliza stayed silent.

‘Do you want to talk about it?’ The assassin pressed lightly, as Eliza immediately shook her head.

‘No.’

‘It might help.’

‘No. I don’t have to tell you anything.’

‘That is true, however, I’m giving you the option to, as I want you to know that I am here, should you want to talk.’

‘Well I don’t.’

‘Ok, that’s fine, all I’m saying, is that I will be here, should you ever want to talk. I will also help you to find some healthier emotional outlets, later today, that do not involve harming yourself in anyway.’ Eliza nodded and stayed silent, as the sun started to rise properly over the gardens; her nightmare still fresh in her mind and she shivered again, clenching her hands to stop them from shaking so much.

‘I am a good listener, if there’s anything on your mind. How are you feeling?’ Natasha asked in a softer voice, hoping to get the teenager to talk to her. Eliza bit her lip and took a steadying breath, before she replied in a tired voice.

‘Overwhelmed… it’s just…a lot all at once, you know? Natasha cocked her head at her slightly and nodded.

‘That is to be expected after everything that you’ve been through. This is all quite a big change and it will take time for you to adjust, but I know that you will.’ Eliza nodded stiffly and decided to trust Natasha with a snippet of her nightmare.

‘I just…in my nightmare I was alone and I just…I do feel…alone. It’s stupid, I know I always have been alone. Like I’m not a little Kid anymore and I know that my parents aren’t gonna swan in and take me to Hollywood to live in a mansion or anything, but I kind of thought by now that I would at least have a family or not feel so alone.’ Natasha hummed in response and felt a surge of compassion for the teenager, before she gave her a kind smile.

‘You might not have found your family yet, but you’ve got a friend in me, Kid.’ For the first time that morning, Eliza gave her a small smile and nodded, before she yawned tiredly and attempted to cover it up, which didn’t go unnoticed by Natasha.

‘Do you think you can try and go back to sleep?’ She tried – already knowing what the answer would be, as Eliza shook her head.

‘No.’ Natasha nodded in understanding and stood up, holding out a hand to help Eliza up, who took it hesitantly.

‘How does coffee and a movie sound instead, before the rest of the team wake up?’ Eliza couldn’t keep a small smile from appearing on her face, before she nodded and followed the assassin back inside, feeling slightly less alone than before.


	11. Social Worker meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliza dislikes her social worker and is triggered by something that she said.

It was the afternoon on the day that Natasha had caught her smoking and Eliza was currently sat in the main Avengers conference room in the Compound, with Natasha, Clint and two people from CPS: one was her social worker and the other was a trainee.

To say that she was bored, was an understatement, but this was a routine visitation – as they needed to get Natasha to sign some more documents and also they needed to make sure that the Compound was a suitable place for Eliza to live for the next few weeks. Eliza was used to these, having had quite a lot of them in her time in the foster system. The inspection of the Compound had gone very well and of course had passed and this next section, was the more formal part of the visitation – or as Eliza prefers to call it, ‘the talk where they all pretend to understand what shit you’re going through.’

Eliza was staring out of one of the large windows, watching as the rain fell and trickled down the windows; she was only half listening to the trainee – who was a younger man, before he fully bore her to death. It was when Natasha cleared her throat and looked at Eliza expectantly, that the teenager looked at everyone and realised that they were all waiting for her to answer something…

‘-um, what?’ Eliza knew by now that Natasha Romanoff was a very closed off person and never openly expressed herself, unless she needed to, however, Eliza was pretty sure that there was something akin to a disapproving expression that flickered across her face for a miniscule of a second, before it was replaced with her usual stoic one.

‘Martha, your social worker, was just informing us of your previous placements and she asked, how you were finding living here?’

‘Oh right. It’s fine.’ Eliza said, shrugging as Martha made a note of something and looked at her with an expression that Eliza liked to call: ‘the look where I pretend to understand how you’re feeling, but really I don’t understand children and have no idea what to say to you’ expression.

Martha had been her social worker for as long as she could remember and to put it bluntly – she was rather like Elaine the Pain from Tracy Beaker. Martha was a very well to do, business like woman, who always ‘wanted to get to the root of the problem by talking about feelings’ – which Eliza hated and always pretended to be sick, to get out of.

Martha had branded Eliza with an anger problem when she was younger – but in reality, Eliza just got angry, so she wouldn’t get sad. Sadness was weak, anger was power – nobody messed with you when you were angry, but if you were sad, people could use it against you; it helped Eliza in group homes before and it kind of stuck. Eliza could write down each and every one of Martha’s visits over the years, because she hated every one of them. It wasn’t that she hated her, it was just like she didn’t particularly like her. Also, the fact that Martha always looked at her as if she expected her to break; aswell going behind her back to find out stuff about her schooling and how she was behaving in the group/foster homes – Eliza hated.

Eliza went back to staring out of the window, as Martha finished writing and sat forward in her chair, before addressing her again, with a pitying and babylike voice, that you would use to address small children who were being difficult.

‘Eliza? I know things are really challenging right now for you and your brain is still developing and is struggling to comprehend everything, which is why you’re trying to zone out of reality now by pretending that it doesn’t exist by looking out of the window – but we need to face things head on, with determination. Let’s talk about how you are really feeling about everything.’ Anger bubbled up in her stomach, as Eliza turned back to face the adults and she gave Martha a sickeningly sweet smile.

‘As always Martha, you have a way with words to make me feel so much better and no, I’m looking out of the window because I’m bored.’ Clint snorted, then shut up when Natasha subtly kicked him under the table. Martha smiled, not picking up on the sarcasm, and she nodded in ‘understanding’.

‘I bet you are bored of this boring grown up discussion, yes. We are almost finished with this part of the talk, but I’d like you to think about discussing your feelings with us in a bit, please, so we can better help you.’ Anger bubbling still, Eliza held her tongue, knowing that starting a shouting match with Martha was just not worth it.

‘Whatever.’ The Trainee, Eliza couldn’t remember his name, started making notes on a different clipboard as Martha started discussing the benefits of talking about emotions. Eliza felt like groaning and she glanced at Clint and Natasha who were watching her and the others with neutral expressions, although she swore that the corners of their mouths twitched upwards for a split second, as the three of them all made eye contact briefly. Supressing a smirk, Eliza ran a hand through her hair and partially listened to Martha talk about her own experiences with other children who have gone through similar situations.

‘-and that is why I think it is best to discuss some of Eliza’s…difficulties.’ The teenager zoned back into the conversation and frowned as Martha pulled out a large blue folder that had her picture on it.

It was then that she realised that the folder was her…basically everything that the system had on her – all her mistakes, her flaws, her achievements (of which there were few) and all her placements. She hadn’t seen this folder in a few years – as her previous placement was over a year ago and before then she had been in multiple group homes.

Blushing furiously as Martha spread the contents on the table, Eliza fixed her eyes on her lap, as Natasha begun flicking through documentation of her previous placements, time in group homes, Police reports/warnings and school letters.

‘Ms Romanoff, I think it wise to mention about Eliza’s little…shoplifting problem too, as you should be aware of it, being her temporary guardian – as it tends to ‘flare up’ in stressful times.’ Martha made little hand gestures at this and Eliza felt her anger rise back quicker than before, but still she held her tongue, although her foot had started shaking, in an effort to expel some of her excess energy subtly under the table.

‘That will not be problem. We run a tight ship here, nothing like that will be happening.’ Natasha said simply, as she perused the other documentation, before putting it in a pile and clasping her hands in front of her. Eliza felt relieved that Natasha didn’t prolong the discussion about her behaviour and shoplifting, but she continued staring at her lap, wanting nothing more than to leave the room.

‘Good, that’s what we like to hear. Now, the boring formal part is over, Ms Romanoff. However, I still need to give you this…’ Martha then passed Natasha an official looking letter and what appeared to be a hospital letter.

‘-this is the official police report regarding Eliza’s previous placement. The injuries that she sustained were severe and as you know already, the police have arrested Mr and M…’ Martha’s voice faded into nothingness, until all Eliza could hear was her own heartbeat, that seemed like it wanted to explode right out of her chest. She hadn’t spoken about what had happened to anyone yet and to be honest, she had been trying not to think about it – as it made her feel incredibly anxious and she wasn’t sure that she wanted to relive it again.

All Eliza could see were that her hands were visibly trembling on her lap and she felt like the room had suddenly shrunk and she couldn’t breathe properly, as she tried to calm her breathing down. All she could hear was her own heartbeat and she could feel his hands on her, the smash of glass on her head…the feeling of her nose breaking and the endless days spent hiding in terror, locked in her room…

She could hear the adults suddenly talking to her and moving closer to her, but Eliza couldn’t hear or see any of it properly, as suddenly she felt like she was about to vomit everywhere with the pounding in her head.

All she needed was to get away from everyone and breathe.

Eliza abruptly stood up and turned round, knocking her chair over in the process, as she then ran as fast as she could out of the Conference room, ignoring the adults who were calling after her.

After a few minutes, Eliza found herself in a long corridor, with windows that overlooked the garden. Wrenching the nearest door open, after a couple wouldn’t budge, she flung herself inside and found herself in an empty room; it resembled something of a mini science lab – although it was very empty and only a desk and chair, with empty beakers were indicators of this being used before.

Suddenly feeling her legs give way, she slid down the nearest wall and pulled her knees to her chest, breathing quickly, trying to compose herself, to no avail.

Eliza’s eyebrows were knitted together and her forehead had a thin layer of sweat on it, as she shook uncontrollably. To her dismay, she felt tears prickle at the corners of her eyes and she took a shaky breath, which sounded more like a sob. Burying her head into her knees, Eliza couldn’t help the tears that started falling, as memories of her abuse thundered around in her head.

***

Everyone watched in shock as without any warning, Eliza jumped up and ran out of the room, quicker than they thought was possible. Natasha instantly looked over to Martha, who sighed in annoyance, collecting the papers from the table; Natasha raised an eyebrow at this.

‘She is a very rude girl and always runs away from her problems, instead of dealing with them, it’s very frustrati…’

‘-maybe she feels as if nobody cares about how she is feeling; after all, how can she cope with everything, because her ‘developing brain’ can’t handle it all, right? Also, I’m not a qualified social worker, but I can easily tell that you need to ditch the books and actually spend some time with children. If that is everything Martha, I believe that we are done here. Clint will show you out and I await a copy of all the paperwork from today.’ Natasha interrupted easily, walking out of the room, as Martha blinked in shock, seemingly rendered speechless.

Natasha didn’t bother to wait for a response from Martha, she simply left the room and went in search of finding Eliza – hoping that she would be able to provide some support that the teenager evidently needed.


	12. Support

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natasha finds Eliza and they have a chat.

Natasha quickly made her way out of the Conference Room, glad to be out of the meeting and now she could understand why Eliza had told her earlier that she disliked her social worker.

‘Friday? Where’s the Kid gone?’

_‘Eliza is on the fifth floor and is in Room 36B. She appears to be distressed.’_

‘I know. Thanks Friday.’ Natasha made a beeline for the stairs and to find the teenager, feeling very out of her element. She had no idea how to comfort a teenager at all – the closest that she had ever been to one, was when Peter Parker came around sometimes, but he was known by the team as ‘Stark’s Kid’ – as he was always with him in the labs and things, so she hadn’t really interacted with him much; and certainly had not had to comfort him when things got bad.

Soon enough, Natasha was standing outside of Room 36B – which she realised was Bruce’s old lab, before he had moved a few weeks prior. Hesitantly, she reached for the handle, then she froze, as she heard the unmistakeable sounds of muffled sobbing coming from inside.

_Shit._

Before she could even think of how best to handle the situation, she found herself opening the door and looking into the room, which seemed pretty much empty, besides a few tables and cupboards and a few pieces of science equipment that looked pretty old. She clicked the lights on and looked around again.

‘Kid? You ok?’ Nothing, except a small sniffle could be heard, as Natasha had super hearing and was listening intently, she concluded that Eliza was hiding somewhere in the room and did not want to be found. Natasha entered the room and followed the sounds of uneven breathing which led behind one of the cupboards at the opposite end of the room.

The cupboard was almost closed, but not entirely and Natasha silently crossed the room and slowly knelt down in front of it. She pulled the handle and the door swung open, to reveal Eliza, who had her knees pulled up to her chest and looked up at her in surprise as tears cascaded down her cheeks. She hastily wiped them away and shuffled further away from Natasha, as much as she could before she hit the back of the cupboard. Natasha held her hands up in a placating gesture and sat back on her knees, in what she hoped was a calming position.

‘I get what you mean about Martha now.’ Natasha joked lightly, hoping to lighten the atmosphere, but Eliza didn’t reply and the assassin found herself at a loss for what to do to make her feel better. Natasha was very good at a lot of things, but comforting people, and more precisely children, was not on the list.

‘Do you want to talk about what happened that upset you?’ Eliza shook her head, it would have been missed by anyone else, but Natasha was trained to pick up these subtle gestures and she sighed softly before deciding to be honest with the teenager.

‘Look Kid, I’m not great at this kind of stuff, but I do want to help you; however, I can’t if you don’t talk to me.’ Natasha said in what she hoped was a kind voice, as Eliza continued to stare at her knees, her breathing uneven, but Natasha noticed that she was calming down slightly. She didn’t know if it was having company, or the fact that she was talking to her, however Natasha opened her mouth to continue talking, hoping to make the teenager calmer, when Eliza mumbled something, through shaky breaths.

‘Don’t wanna talk; I’ll be fine. Just go away…please.’ Natasha tilted her head to the side.

‘Need I remind you that you’re talking to a trained spy? I know a lie when I see one. Takes guts to lie to my face Kid, but just so you know, you are a rubbish liar.’

‘Don’t know what… you mean.’ Eliza muttered, avoiding Natasha’s gaze, scrubbing a hand across her face, before she went back to staring at her knees.

‘I know you haven’t had anyone to confide in before, or talk to about how you’re feeling…’

‘-It isn’t any of your business. Just leave me alone, I don’t need your pity!’ Eliza glared at Natasha, who looked right back at her with a calm expression, not rising to the bait, before Eliza stared back at her knees. Natasha knew by now that Eliza used anger to deflect her sadness – something she could relate to and she realised that she was more alike to the teenager than she originally thought.

‘It isn’t my business no, but I understand how scary it can be to open up to people, with the fear of being resented or judged – especially after traumatic events. I need you to know that I will never judge you nor turn you away if you tell me anything. I will always do my best to help you and your ‘undeveloped teenage brain’.’ Eliza looked up at Natasha and she couldn’t help a small smile appearing on her face at the assassin’s dig at Martha. Natasha smiled back and waited patiently for a response, as Eliza started picking at her fingernails, seemingly thinking about something.

‘Do I have to talk to you? Do I have a choice?’

‘There is always a choice.’

‘What if I say no? What if I don’t want anything to do with any of you and I just want to be left alone?’ Natasha gave her a small smile and looked at her knowingly.

‘If that were true, then you wouldn’t still be here talking to me, now would you?’ Eliza didn’t answer, she just shrugged and let out a small sigh, before looking up at Natasha.

‘You know when you have a bad mission or whatever and it affects you in some way?’

‘Yes?’

‘How do you deal with it?’

‘I usually do things that I enjoy, or I allow myself to reflect on things, before moving on – as you cannot change the past, only the future. It does not do good to dwell on negative past experiences.’ Eliza huffed and shook her head, as Natasha raised an eyebrow; she understood that the teenager was reflecting the conversation by asking her questions, but also, she thought that Eliza was opening up to her in her own way.

‘No, I mean, do you get…nightmares and stuff? Like when things um…make you think of it and you remember…everything? How do you deal with it?’ Natasha pursed her lips and realised instantly that Eliza was talking about her own experiences, in a roundabout way, so she needed to answer this carefully.

‘I get nightmares, yes. They are very difficult to deal with. Unfortunately, apart from therapy and medication – if that is needed at times, then there isn’t much that I can do to stop thinking about past things, apart from focus on the present. If I feel overwhelmed or triggered by anything whenever, then I confide in my friends and also allow myself to have a moment to try and rationalise everything, when it feels like it is all a big mess in my head – it helps a great deal. Does that answer your question?’ Eliza nodded and stared at her knees.

‘Remembering traumatic events and having nightmares, is nothing to be ashamed of Eliza. Your brain is trying to deal with it all in its own way and some days are better than others.’ Putting a gentle hand on the teenagers knee, Natasha gave her a kind smile, as Eliza nodded and smiled back slightly, as new tears begun to fall down her cheeks.

‘It’s just hard.’

‘I know.’

‘Does it get better?’

‘It does, but it is always still there in the back of your mind. You just get better at dealing with it, but it takes time. We’re all here to help you, even Martha in her own way.’ Natasha didn’t lie to the teenager, she didn’t see the point of getting her hopes up that all the memories would go away when she was older and Eliza nodded again in understanding. They sat in silence for a few moments, before Natasha spoke up, hoping to make Eliza feel more comfortable in her presence.

‘How about we go and watch a movie? It’s cold in here and I think that Bruce still has some of his new protein coconut muffins left.’ Eliza tilted her head slightly and then nodded slowly, before she climbed out of the cupboard, as Natasha stood up too.

‘Sorry for r…’

‘-don’t apologise, there’s no need to, you did nothing wrong.’ Natasha interrupted, raising an eyebrow at the teenager who shuffled her trainers awkwardly.

‘Okay, well um…thanks for listening and stuff.’

‘Anytime Kid.’ Eliza smiled, feeling slightly less alone than before.


	13. Music Room

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliza finds comfort in music

It was a day or so after the meeting with Martha and as all of the Avengers were in a training session that morning, leaving Eliza to her own devices, she had decided to explore more of the Compound, as she was quite bored.

She made her way down the many corridors and she decided to open one of the many doors, to have a look around. Eliza pushed the door open and was interested to find herself in a very large library, not like the one on Natasha’s floor, this one, was full of old books and papers that went as high as the ceiling. She walked inside, her nose wrinkling due to the old book smell. She wondered why she hadn’t been shown this library and she then perked up as she saw a large comfy sofa seat, that overlooked the other side of the gardens – it looked very cosy and she then frowned as she saw a figure in the opposite corner. Bucky Barnes. He was holding a pile of old papers and had an unreadable expression on his face.

Eliza had of course been introduced to everyone at the Compound when she first arrived and mostly she talked to all the Avengers. However, Bucky was one of the few who Eliza was still sceptical about, as they hadn’t had a proper conversation yet and had just seen him in passing. To be honest, she had found him kind of scary and she inwardly gulped upon seeing him silently observing her.

Bucky walked right up to her and then raised an eyebrow at her. ‘Hate to break it to ya Kid, but you aren’t meant to be in here. This is the private library, Avengers only. What are you doing in here?’ Eliza frowned and shrugged before saying simply, ‘exploring. What are you doing here, aren’t you meant to be in a training session?’ Bucky’s mouth quirked slightly and he waved his hand dismissively.

‘I am busy doing some filing.’ Bucky replied in a stoic voice, so similar to Natasha’s that Eliza bit her lip anxiously, wondering if she was in trouble. She nodded and glanced down at her trainers, before realising that the man was smirking fondly at her and he started walking over to her. She took a step back towards the door, her heart beating fast in her chest, at the sight of a fresh cut on his neck and the glint of metal from his metal arm, under his top.

Bucky put down the pile of papers on a nearby table and he reached his hand over to her. Eliza froze and squeezed her eyes shut and then frowned in confusion as she just felt her hair being ruffled. She opened her eyes and saw Bucky looking down at her with an almost understanding expression, but quickly it was gone and he just gave her a small smile.

‘Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone that you were here. Have fun exploring.’

‘Thanks Mr Barnes.’

‘Bucky.’

‘Thanks, Bucky.’

‘No worries Kid.’ He gave her a wink and turned back to his papers, whilst Eliza made her way out of the library and back into the hallway. She walked further down the hallway and through a few empty rooms, until she came to another large oak door, this time, when she opened it, it led into a large music room.

Eliza fought back a grin and made her way over to the grand piano in the middle of the room, before sitting down and running her fingers over the ivory keys. She had learnt how to play the piano at school and she was so good that she had achieved a few awards over the years; however, when she moved schools and got placed with her previous foster family, she hadn’t played at all, as the new school required money for piano lessons, which her family refused to pay.

Taking a deep breath and ghosting her fingers over the keys, Eliza began to play an old melancholic piece that she had composed a few years ago, smiling wistfully as she remembered how playing piano made her feel happy.

***

‘Friday? I’ve finished training and can’t find the Kid. Where is she?’ The AI paused for a second before replying.

_‘Floor 3, Agent Romanoff.’_

Natasha was confused, the only thing on that floor was the dance studio and the music room, which she sometimes visited if she was having trouble sleeping or needed a distraction.

‘Take me there.’ She said, stepping back into the elevator, as Friday brought her up to the highest level of the compound. The first thing that Natasha heard when she stepped out of the elevator was the sound of music. She followed the sound, to the music room and peered inside hesitantly. Eliza was sat with her back to the door, playing some sort of classical tune on the piano, her fingers sliding gracefully over the notes, not missing a single beat. Natasha wasn’t easily impressed, but she had to admit that the tune brought a tear to her eye, as she stood and listened patiently, waiting for Eliza to finish. She seemed completely in her element, a peaceful look of serenity on her face – that Natasha had never seen on her before. Natasha couldn’t help but smile as she finished and she broke the silence, by making her presence known.

‘Didn’t know you could play piano that well.’ Eliza whipped around and blushed, seeing Natasha’s proud expression.

‘Yeah well, I don’t play anymore.’

‘How come?’

‘…I just don’t.’ Natasha nodded, before she sat down on a chair near the piano, as Eliza averted her gaze.

‘It’s a shame. You have a real gift, Kid.’ There was no response from Eliza, except a small shrug, as she absentmindedly picked at her fingernails.

‘Where did you learn?’

‘An older girl at the Orphanage gave me some lessons and I picked it up quick. I played a bit at my old school, before I had to move to anoth…it doesn’t matter.’ Nodding, Natasha gestured to the piano.

‘Well, if ever you want to, you’re more than welcome to come in here and play whenever you’d like. It’s always open. Music, can be a healthy outlet, if ever you need a distraction from anything.’ Eliza looked up at Natasha and nodded slowly before mumbling a small ‘thanks.’

‘No problem Kid. Do you fancy doing anything this afternoon?’

‘Like what?’

‘Well, I was thinking we could take a walk around the City and do a bit of shopping? We haven’t bought anything for your room yet and you could do with some new clothes.’

‘I don’t have any money.’ Eliza pointed out, as Natasha smirked and pulled out a credit card from her pocket.

‘No, but I do.’

‘You don’t have to spend money on m…’

‘-I’m offering and I want to. Besides, you might even enjoy yourself. So, what do you say?’ Eliza bit her lip slightly and nodded, as Natasha stood up and smiled.

‘Great. Let’s go then.’


	14. Unravel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natasha takes Eliza on a shopping trip, but when food is mentioned, the teenager starts to become overwhelmed again.

‘What about these? Red would suit you.’ Eliza pulled a face, as Natasha held out a pair of red sneakers, with a black patterning around the side.

‘Ugly.’

‘Alright then, how about just black? Black goes with everything really.’ Natasha bent down and picked up a pair of sleek black sneakers, which looked very expensive and Eliza couldn’t help herself from a wave of guilt that fell into her stomach. Seeing this, Natasha sighed and looked pointedly at the teenager, holding the shoes out to her.

‘What’s up?’

‘They look…expensive. I’ll just stick with the ones I have already.’

‘Money is not an issue. Try these on, see how they fit. No way am I letting you walk about in those for any longer.’ Eliza looked down at her current shoes and wiggled her toes, seeing a large hole in both – one on the sole and the other on the front.

‘Fine.’ Reluctantly, the teenager sat down and tried on the shoes, trying not to let a smile slip on her face when she saw how cool they looked. She had never worn something so expensive before. Natasha noticed of course and nodded in approval, ticking something off her shopping list.

‘Good. Put those in the basket. Next is undergarments and paja…’

‘-Natasha!’

‘What?’ The assassin quirked an eyebrow in question, as Eliza went bright red and frowned, looking around to see if anyone had heard.

‘Don’t tell everyone!’ Natasha chuckled and waved a hand dismissively.

‘Eliza. Everyone wears underwear. Don’t be silly. Come on.’ Eliza huffed and followed the woman as they made their way down the isles.

‘Aw these are cute.’ Natasha said, stifling a laugh as Eliza all but shoved her hand away from showing her a pair of hello kitty knickers.

‘Natasha!’ Whined Eliza, putting her face in her hands, as the assassin laughed and put a hand on her shoulder.

‘Okay, okay. No more jokes. It’s nice to see you acting like a normal Kid though.’

‘By embarrassing me to death?!’

‘Mhm.’ Natasha said, smirking, before pointing down the isle.

‘Pick out some underwear and pajamas that you like and let me know when you’re done, then we can check out some jeans and stuff.’ Eliza nodded and walked quickly away from Natasha who was still smiling.

Eliza came back a few minutes later, with the clothes that she liked and Natasha nodded approvingly, not commenting on the Spongebob pajamas, however Eliza looked at her pointedly.

‘Spongebob is cool, Hello Kitty is not.’

‘Of course. Whatever you say Kid. Come on then.’ Natasha led them both down more isles and after another hour, Natasha was satisfied with the clothing choices and they had also bought some small items for Eliza’s bedroom too.

Natasha was busy texting Clint about training that afternoon, when she frowned, upon not seeing Eliza for a few minutes. Looking down the isle, which was children and teenager’s bedroom furniture and things, she spotted Eliza further down, holding a small fluffy object longingly. Curious, Natasha quickly walked to her and blinked slightly in surprise upon seeing that it was a small brown stuffed bear with a big red ribbon.

‘What have you got there?’ Eliza jumped in surprise and hastily shoved it back on the shelf and shrugged nonchalantly, as Natasha appeared next to her.

‘It’s nothing.’ Natasha hummed in response and pulled out the stuffed teddybear, looking at it interestedly.

‘It’s cute.’ Eliza shook her head determinedly and crossed her arms.

‘No, it’s for babies and little kids. I’m big and I don’t need it.’

‘You don’t have to be a little kid to want a teddybear. Hell, I even have one.’

‘Really?’

‘Yep. Clint gave me it a long time ago and I still have it on my bed.’ Eliza shuffled her feet and sighed, looking at the bear in Natasha’s hands, debating something, as Natasha waited patiently.

‘I don’t like having things of my own…well not that I don’t want to…just…I had one once when I was four…a little one…like this. It was so soft and I went everywhere with it. It was the last thing from my…real parents. One day, one of the older Kids was mad at me for something and tore it apart in front of me. I never had anything to myself after that for fear of it being taken away again.’ Natasha gave her an understanding look and promptly put the teddybear in the basket, much to Eliza’s surprise.

‘But…but I don’t n…’

‘-Kid, it’s fine, really. No judgements at all. Now, come on, I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted.’ Eliza couldn’t help a small smile from appearing on her face and she nodded, following Natasha to the checkout.

‘How about we go and grab some lunch? I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.’ Eliza’s head whipped up from looking at her new snowglobe of New York, and Natasha saw the hesitation in her eyes.

‘Or we could go back to the Compound. Your call.’ Natasha quickly added, not wanting Eliza to feel pressured to eat out.

Torn, as she was very hungry and tired, but also she didn’t want to eat in public or at all, Eliza coincided to eat out – hoping that she could trick Natasha into not eating much, when at the Compound, she would be expected to eat a full meal, under the eyes of Natasha and Friday and probably some of the Avengers too.

‘We could eat now…if that’s ok?’

‘Of course it is. What are you in the mood for?’

‘I’m fine with whatever.’ Natasha nodded at the teenager and paid for their things, before picking up the bags and leading the way to the food court, with Eliza following behind slowly, dreading the meal.

***

‘Don’t you like the food?’ Eliza looked up at Natasha in surprise, who was eyeing her curiously, with a raised eyebrow. They were both sat in the Dining Area of the Mall, with lunch, as a well deserved break after shopping.

‘Huh?’

‘You’ve barely touched your lunch.’ Natasha explained, taking a bite out of her chicken salad wrap, as Eliza bit her lip and looked back down at her small portion of stirfry and cup of coffee.

‘Oh…yeah well, I’m not very hungry actually.’ Eliza swore internally, as her stomach chose that moment to make a particularly loud grumble.

‘Is that so?’ Natasha commented with a knowing expression and Eliza sighed and picked up her fork with some rice on it, trying to stifle the feeling of oncoming nausea from the thought of eating and getting fat.

Watching as Eliza took a tiny bite of her food, followed by half the mug of coffee, Natasha debated how to go about this. She was very aware that Eliza was not underweight like she had been when she had gotten to the Compound, however, she had also noticed that mealtimes in the Compound were becoming shorter and Eliza was eating less and less – disguised by talking or moving the food around to make it look like she was eating more. This was the same thing that was happening now. Eliza had been talking non-stop, pushing her food around the plate for the better part of twenty minutes, before Natasha realised that she was not eating it at all. Being a spy had its advantages.

‘It’ll be getting cold.’ Natasha observed, as Eliza pretended to watch a couple who were walking past them.

‘I’ve eaten a lot already.’ The teenager replied easily, sipping her coffee as Natasha raised an eyebrow unimpressed at the blatant lie.

‘We both know that isn’t true Eliza. Just try and have a few bites? It smells great.’ She said gently, as Eliza felt a wave of annoyance at the fact that Natasha wouldn’t just let it go.

‘I’m not hungry.’ Eliza repeated from earlier, crossing her arms and glaring at Natasha who met her glare with a knowing look.

‘Look. I’m not stupid Kid. I know you wanted to eat in public in hopes you could trick me by just moving your food around, but you forget that I’m a trained spy and I know all the tricks in the book.’

‘Whatever.’

‘I know this is difficult and you’ve been doing great with eating – but we need to keep it up, otherwise all the progress we’ve made will be for nothing.’ Natasha explained, as Eliza shrugged and gazed determinedly at the floor.

‘I don’t care and I’m not hungry.’

‘Eliza…’

‘-No!'’

‘I’m not arguing with you Kid; either you eat a bit more of that here, or we go back to the Compound and you eat there. Either way, you’re eating. Your call.’

‘No, I’m not eating and you can’t make me.’ Natasha said nothing to this and finished her wrap as they sat in an uncomfortable silence; after a few minutes, Natasha stood up and looked at Eliza.

‘Come on then, I think it’s time we head back.’ Picking up the bags that Natasha wasn’t carrying, Eliza followed the assassin back to the car, feeling a mixture of guilt at how nasty she had been to her, when Natasha had helped her so much and also anger at the thought that she was going to be made to eat, when she really didn’t want to. Thoughts of calories, feeling guilty and angry flooded through the teenagers mind and for the first time in a few days, she felt utterly lost once again.


End file.
